


Royalty and Rebellion

by amityadmirer



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: ((((((kissing?)))))), Aged up characters, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Amity Blight is a Mess, Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Falling In Love, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Mutual Pining, Not chaste kissing either, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Princess falling in love with her knight au, Slow Burn, a proper mess, homophobic parents???? Kinda???, i promise there will be kissing, leave a comment and I’ll give u a kiss, luz is also a mess, not really enemies but sorta, there’s so much yearning in this one it should be a crime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:35:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27766861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amityadmirer/pseuds/amityadmirer
Summary: Amity Blight is the perfect Princess. She knows her manners, speaks only when spoken to, and above all, was never even a part of the twins pranks, but, as fate will have it, they still get her in trouble. Her “punishment” is a new bodyguard who happens to be a talkative but loveable, adorable teenage girl around her age. And as their relationship begins to flourish, Amity finds herself in a very dangerous position for a dignified Princess as herself.She seems to be falling for this girl.Falling hard.
Relationships: Amity Blight & Luz Noceda & Willow Park & Gus Porter, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 590
Kudos: 904





	1. Of Mice and Bodyguards

**Author's Note:**

  * For [IDustRoseI](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IDustRoseI/gifts).



> Hey guys, I have a few short notes, so I’ve really enjoyed doing this the past few months, but I think this might be the last fic for a while. Don't worry, it's a long one (my longest so far), but there are only so many fics you can write(around 13) about two people with only one season out. I will likely be back in the future, but for now, enjoy this Royalty AU IDustRoseI requested over a month and a half ago. And I’ll let you all know, I am going out with a bang.  
> Also, as always, big shout out to Inuonlytwo. Without you I am nothing.

“But dad!” Amity argued, throwing her hands in the air dramatically and stomping into her rooms. Her large skirts ruffled when her hands came down, and she turned, ignoring the mess of clothes on her floor, and faced her father. “It was the twins! Why would I have any business putting mice into Madam Lilith’s shoes?!”

After the rodent fiasco that had happened during their morning lessons, the king had been fuming. It was only after his mid-day meetings that he finally had time to harass his children about this mouse mess. The twins—and Amity supposedly—had placed several of the tiny creatures in Madam Lilith’s desk and shoes. It was just one of the many pranks the mischievous young adults had been pulling around the palace recently, and it was starting to get on his nerves. Usually, he was more forgiving of his children’s misbehavior, but lately, the shenanigans were interfering with his duties, and with the Harvest ball coming up in a few months he had enough to worry about without his children’s tomfoolery.

“Amity Blight, I am aware of this.” King Alador boomed, his voice echoing in the large chambers which belonged to the princess. “And the twins will be…corrected for their behavior, but—” he stopped, pinching his forefinger and thumb over the bridge of his nose. “Darling, my hands are tied this time; you must have supervision.”

“They are  _ not _ .” The princess exclaimed, gesturing to the crown on her father’s head. It glimmered in the light streaming through Amity’s light pink curtains and made the blood-red ruby sitting in the center light up crimson, reflecting spots around the room. “You're the  _ king _ . No one ties your hands.”

Alador rolled his eyes at his youngest daughter’s point. “For your information, Amity, there are things that can tie a king’s hands, and needing my children to stay out of trouble until summer is over is one of them. I am sorry, but a bodyguard is my only choice. We have talked about this before, and it's a wonder I haven’t assigned you one before. You are a princess, after all. Most princesses have royal guards.”

“I have royal guards.” She continued to argue, “But they don't follow me around 24/7.”

“Yes,” the king continued, “I understand that, and now it is time for more than simply the guards looking after you in the palace. I need someone who will follow you everywhere.”

The princess’s blush pink dress wrinkled up as she plopped down into the chair next to the window. It was made of twisted ornate metal with a pink plush cushion on the seat, matching the table beside it, meant for afternoon tea. Opposed to the usual ladylike manner in which she usually sat, Amity crossed her legs—not her ankles like was acceptable—and faced her father with a sour expression she often reserved for the twins.

“I am not getting a bodyguard.” She spat. “I am seventeen, almost an adult; I do not need a babysitter.” She looked at her father with glimmering eyes. “Please, dad?”

“Amity…” the king began, sighing deeply as he shook himself out of his thoughts, “You will soon be eighteen, meaning that you will be of age to wed. We have both known for a long while now that this upcoming ball would be for you to look for a future husband. I simply cannot have you still getting into trouble with a wedding on the line. If word gets out that you are unruly, goodness knows what could happen?”

Amity remained silent for a long beat, and the king thought that he had finally gotten through to her, but when he met her gaze again, he quickly realized that assumption was wildly incorrect.

“To hell with a wedding.” She began, raising her voice. “I don't even want to get married; I want freedom. If you assign one of those stuck-up, boring, brain-dead soldiers to watch over me, I promise you I will make this summer a living hell for them. If I were you, I would not test me.” Her gaze was sharp, attitude stubborn like a mule, and the king knew she meant what she’d said.

Amity didn’t break her promises.

But still, he couldn’t afford people knowing that he couldn’t even control his children. He was a king, god-damn it! He made the rules! He had the power! And kings knew what was best for their daughters, so if that meant a poor fool would be working all summer overtime, it would have to be so. He couldn’t afford for Amity to roam free any longer; she was important now. She was a pawn in the cruel game of royal affairs, and he needed someone looking after her.

“I am sorry.” Alador began, wringing his hands. “But I have already made the decision.”

Amity threw her hands up again. “Dad, come on—”

“Amity Blight!” he shouted, interrupting her. “Do not interrupt your king when he is speaking. I thought your mother and I taught you to be ladylike. You look up to your elders. You look up to your king. Do not raise your voice at me.”

The princess winced at the sudden change of tone and slunk against her chair, trying to make herself smaller. She had heard her father shout at plenty of people, the twins mostly, but it didn’t make it any less intimidating when he directed it towards her. It was easy to forget how aggressive her father could be.

Gauging his daughter’s reaction and deeming it acceptable, Alador lowered his tone and took another slow breath. “Darling, I love you very much, but you are acting like a child. Get out of that stupid chair and listen to your father as I have taught you. Just because you are blood does not mean you are allowed to be informal in front of your king.”

Amity shot up from the chair before he could say another word and fell into a deep curtsy. “I am sorry.” She enunciated quietly, holding her eyes to the ground. “That was rude of me. I beg your forgiveness, my king.”

Alador stepped forward and placed a sturdy hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “You are forgiven, darling, but that does not mean I am pardoning you from the bodyguard issue. I will no longer argue with you about this. You know my decision, and there will be someone coming down any minute now.”

“Any minute?” Amity questioned, standing back up and facing her father square on with a look of sourness on her face. She was over a foot shorter than him, but when he held her gaze, she felt almost equal. He was a good king, her father. He had mastered the ability to make you feel identical to him when you agreed with his points, but when you disagreed or challenged the man, he had a way of making you feel very, very small.

“Any minute.” The king solidified, dropping his hand from her shoulder. “And I expect you to be on your best behavior for her. Please, darling.”

Amity took a moment to process his words, but instead of getting stuck on ‘please,’ a word her father barely used, Amity blurted out: “Her?”

“Yes?” The king asked, “What of it?”

Amity chewed on her words for a moment. “Well, when you said I was getting a bodyguard…I guess I just assumed that they would be a man.”

Rarely were women allowed to enroll in the academy all soldiers went to before becoming royal guards. It was only since her father began his reign that women were even allowed to take fighting or protecting roles in society. Before then, all a woman could do in the palace was teach, cook, or clean. Men occupied most other positions.

Alador’s mouth turned up into a smile. “I was very clear when I asked for a guard to watch over my darling little girl. I said I wanted the best, and so I have gotten you the best. Her name is Luz Noceda, and she is the top guard we have at the palace.” He was particularly pleased that there wasn’t going to be an interesting new boy in her life. The last thing the king needed was his daughter falling in love with her bodyguard. 

“Luz Noceda…” Amity said slowly, feeling the name on her tongue. “She’s gonna be in for it.”

The king chuckled lightly. “Just behave yourself. I will be getting reports, and I do expect you to be respectful. Try to think of her as your friend.”

_ Yeah right. _ Amity thought.  _ A friend who gets paid to ruin my fun, great. _

Before she could push her father even further with sarcasm, the sound of someone knocking on the door filled the room, and Amity went silent.

“That must be her,” Alador said solemnly. “Come in!”

“This is bullshit.” The princess muttered under her breath as the door opened, and Luz Noceda walked into the room.

***

Luz had been anxious all morning.

As soon as Madam Eda had informed her of her promotion, and subsequent assignment to the princess, her stomach had been tied up in knots. She had never expected something as brilliant as this to happen to her; after all, she was just 18, but Eda had assured her that after working her butt off in the academy for three years and performing at the top of her class, that she could deal with following one measly princess around for a few months.

Eda had made it clear when she gave her the job that it would be a temporary assignment, likely repealed after the harvest ball, but she was at the princess’s beck and call until then. Luz had a theory that the king had only chosen her because they were close in age, but Eda had just shooed her away when she had asked her.

But finally, she was there, standing in front of the princess’s chambers with what she hoped was a levelheaded expression on her face. The anxiety had only gotten worse the longer she waited there without knocking on the door, so with one final deep breath, she stepped forward and knocked softly three times on the door.

“That must be her.” The king’s muffled voice said from inside the chambers. “Come in!”

Without hesitation, and without more time to worry, Luz turned the knob and stepped into the room.

As soon as she had been informed of her promotion, Eda had sent a new uniform to her room. Though she was a woman, Luz was allowed to wear the regular guards uniform with pants, black and cleanly pressed, with a black leather belt with a gold buckle. Her shirt was a plain black button-up, and a deep royal blue jacket with shining buttons tied it all together. The uniform was brand new, as opposed to her last one, and tailored to her specifically. It caught the princess’s eye immediately.

Across the room, the princess was dressed in a beautiful day dress. The light pink hues of the fabric matched her skin tone beautifully, illuminating her in a somewhat fragile light, like a porcelain doll dressed for court. She was standing in front of her father, arms crossed over her chest, and gave both Luz and the king matching unhappy looks. Her hair, a coppery reddish-brown color, was pin-straight, and she held her head high, making her seem taller than she was. In actuality, the princess couldn’t be taller than 5’5”. Then finally, as if to solidify her image as the Princess of the Boiling Isles, she wore upon her head a thin golden circlet with bright pink gemstones situated to look like a flower.

_ She’s even prettier up close. _ Luz thought to herself, briefly letting her eyes wander off the princess and onto the large rooms.

The walls were all painted the same creamy peach color, with curtains and accessories to match. All of the metal in the room was rose gold to match the room’s light pink theme, and although it was only the sitting room, it was the nicest private room Luz had ever seen.

“Ah, Ms. Noceda, it's a pleasure to meet you.” The king said, and suddenly Luz remembered herself, falling into a deep bow.

“Your Majesty,” Luz said, beginning to stand up, “I assure you the pleasure is all mine. Thank you for giving me such an amazing opportunity. I promise I will not let you down.”

Alador gave his daughter a stern look, and Amity developed a rather uncomfortable and forced looking smile. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Noceda.” She said through clenched teeth, falling into a small curtsy.

“It's a pleasure, princess,” Luz replied, returning the gesture with a bow of her own.

“I assume you’ve been briefed.” The king said, “You are not to take your eyes off of her.”

Luz nodded fiercely, “Of course.”

“You will lay your life down before hers if it is necessary.”

“Without hesitation.”

The king took a deep breath and lowered his voice so only Luz could hear. “Ms. Noceda, I am trusting you with my daughter, one of the loves of my life; don't mess this up. You only get this one chance.”

Luz nodded her head and met the king’s eyes, “I will not let you down, Your Majesty. I promise.”

The king stood back up and smoothed his jacket with a confident smile. Giving the two girls one final look, he nodded and then sauntered out of the room without another word, leaving the princess and her bodyguard alone.


	2. Drench Yourself in Words Unspoken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz introduces herself to the princess, and things do not go well.  
> 😡🌧😳

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if somebody put a gun to my head and told me to recite newton's laws of physics i would say tell my dog I love her. Somebody tell me why i care more about this fanfic than i do my physics test tomorrow? Maybe i just fucking hate physics. I should really be studying rn...

“So Princess Amity,” Luz started, giving the girl a wide eyed grin which lit up her entire face, but before she could finish her thought, was promptly silenced by the princess holding up her hand.

“Princess.” Amity interrupted.

“I'm honored, but I'm no princess.” Luz joked without missing a beat, and Amity groaned, rolling her eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah, very funny.” She said in a monotone voice. “You shall refer to me as princess or Your Highness. Only my friends are allowed to refer to me as Amity, and you and I are not friends. We will never be friends, and for the record, I don't want you here.”

Luz’s brow furrowed, and she took a small step back. “Uh, yeah, um. Sorry, princess.”

Amity just gave the guard a distasteful glare. “Look, _Luz_ , I turn 18 in less than two months. The ball is in three. By then, I will be carted off and married to some entitled bastard up North, and I will never see you again. This arrangement is temporary, so don't get too comfortable.”

“Of course, princess,” Luz replied softly, her expression sympathetic. 

Amity picked up on it immediately and went red in the face. A royal guard, feeling pity for her?! It was disrespectful. It was cocky. It was…well, it was fucking insufferable.

“You think that’s sad?” She asked, anger wavering in her voice. She had had an awful day so far, and now this guard was going to push her over the edge. “My life isn’t tragic. I'm a _princess._ This is how it is. Girls would kill to be me, and you dare to pity me?”

Luz took another small step backward, edging away from the princess’s fury. “I wouldn’t dare!” she protested. “I have nothing but respect for you, and I'm sure that your life is lovely!”

She was telling the truth, but suddenly the life of a princess she had been imagining her entire life seemed absurd. She had no idea that the princess’s life would surmount to just that: an alliance marriage and producing an heir. As the wheels in her brain turned, she realized that although Amity would be remembered one day because of her title, it would only end up as another name in a history book. Comparing that to the excitement a normal teenage girl should experience seemed downright depressing. Still, she wasn’t about to voice that opinion, especially since Amity had already taken a disliking to her.

The princess sneered. “ _Sure._ ”

For a moment, the room filled with an icy cold silence, and neither girl budged. Luz couldn’t exactly leave the room to seek solace from this daunting conversation, and Amity couldn’t go anywhere Luz wouldn’t follow her. They were stuck at an impasse, neither daring to make the next move.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, but was actually only 20 seconds, Luz cleared her throat. “I will retire to my post by the door.” She said simply, then turned on her heel and began towards the door. About halfway there, she changed her mind and swiveled back to face the princess. “And for the record, your highness, I do deeply admire you, and I hope that in time you may even consider me your friend.” She gave the princess one last solemn look, then turned again and went to stand motionless by the door.

Amity gaped after her guard. A twinge of guilt wormed its way into her heart, and she cursed under her breath. There was something so aggravating about those chocolate-brown eyes boring into her, though she also found a strange and tender softness in them. Amity hugged her arms to her chest and retreated back to her window where she sat down gracefully and turned her gaze longingly to the garden below.

Luz tried to keep her eyes on the door when the princess moved, but it was difficult. She wanted to see if the princess’s expression had changed—if she had gotten only angrier at her remark, or perhaps in an ideal world, acclimated towards the idea of Luz being in her life. Luz knew the princess wasn’t fond of her assignment, her disdain for the guard made clear, but if they were to spend hours with each other day after day, some affection was bound to spark, right? She couldn’t imagine a world in which the two of them remained stone-cold towards each other for _months_. That would make it the most unbearable assignment Luz had ever had!

Her eyes flickered slightly back towards the princess, just in time to see her settle down and peer out the window. Her arms were crossed over her chest as if protecting herself, Luz noted. From what she had observed so far and throughout her life, royal life was sheltered, and Amity seemed to be the most sheltered of them all.

The princess was barely in the public eye. She stayed locked up in her rooms, not by her parents’ will but her own choice. Did she feel as though she was trapped here? A brilliant cage of pinks and golds and the most extravagant of things to occupy her futile time, but a cage, nonetheless. She had said it herself; she was simply a pawn in the game of life and death and war that monarchs played. She would come of age, have her brilliant ball, and be handed off to the bachelor with the most money, influence, or power. For a princess she didn’t seem to have much control over anything at all. She was nothing like her siblings.

The twins, Edric and Emira, were the crown prince and princess of the boiling isles. Edric, being the boy, should have had first rights to the kingdom, but Emira was strong-willed and outspoken, so the king decided to change the law. Luz doubted either of them wanted the throne, as they were too busy going out and getting into trouble. They acted nothing like the heirs to a kingdom should.

Luz trained her eyes back on the door and heaved a sigh. Her shift wouldn’t be up until late, and then she would be able to get some dinner in the kitchen and see Willow and Gus before bed. Another palace guard would watch her door until Luz returned early the next morning, and then it would be back on princess duty for her.

It was going to be a long, silent six hours.

***

“So what’s wrong with her then?” Willow asked, grabbing herself a small sandwich off a nearby platter and gesturing for Luz to sit. “She as stuck up as everyone says?”

They were sitting in the kitchen, off to the side where staff took meals. It was much past dinner, almost ten, and Luz had finally been excused to get food and sleep. Her afternoon had been painfully silent and boring, and the princess had even requested dinner in her rooms. They had barely exchanged words all the rest of the day, and Luz was eternally grateful for the break.

“I'm sure it's not that,” Luz said, settling down. “It's just—the princess isn’t much of a talker. Also, I get the feeling she doesn’t want me there.”

“How so?” Willow asked.

“She told me.”

“Oh.”

Luz took a long breath and shrugged. “I mean, what did I expect, a best friend? No, I have a feeling our relationship will be purely professional. She's not the warmest person per se.”

Willow nodded. “I understand that, I think. I mean, she is a princess _._ ”

“What? I had no idea.” Luz replied sarcastically, and Willow shoved her friend playfully. “Alright, I’m bored. What crazy drama has cropped up while I’ve been on princess duty?”

“Oh yeah,” Willow said, looking around conspiratorially . “Well none of this has been confirmed, but from what I've heard, the twins are in big trouble. Apparently this rodent mess was the final straw and, get this, the king even threatened to take away their rights to the throne!”

Luz’s eyes grew wide. “Really?”

Willow nodded. “So, then after the king said that, Edric and Emira stormed out! They left the grounds, and no one has seen them since. I bet that they’re both off causing mischief in town, but I don't think the king was kidding, about the crown thing, I mean. The twins have always been bad at performing their duties. Amity might end up as the one and only crown princess.”

Luz let out a low whistle under her breath. “Well, that’s certainly something.”

“Oh definitely,” Willow assured, “But nothing has been confirmed. Let’s just hope when the king retires there’ll be someone worthy of following him, am I right?”

“God, I hope so,” Luz mumbled.

“Anywho, it's getting late, and I have to work extra early in the garden tomorrow. Say hi to Gus for me, will you?” Willow asked, pushing back her chair and bringing herself to a stand.

“If I’m here when he gets off shift.” Luz replied, and Willow gave her a curt nod, pushed her seat in, and waltzed away towards the servant’s quarters, leaving Luz to fend for herself in the busy kitchen. 

She didn't wait long to take her own leave, sitting alone for just a moment before rising and grabbing something quick from a nearby table with food. Wrapping it carefully in some cloth, Luz then set off out of the kitchens and towards the central courtyard.

It was raining outside. Just a light drizzle, but rain nonetheless, which Luz loved. When she was younger and it rained, Luz would run out into the storm no matter what was going on just to soak in the goodness and smell the wet earth. Now that she lived in the palace and worked she couldn't quite do that anymore, so she indulged whenever she could, heading outside to the courtyard and standing at the edge of the overhang, hands out, turned up against the open sky, just so she could feel the water drip between her outstretched fingers. 

The courtyard was blessedly vacant, and she breathed a sigh of relief. It was as empty as it usually was on a typical rainy evening, not a sound save for the pattering of raindrops and the whistling of the wind. She was finally alone. 

Luz backed into a column, and slid down to sit against it, legs curled to her chest as she faced outward and peered into the darkness of the night. Silently, as if not to disturb the song of the rain, she pulled out her sandwich and began to unwrap it.

As she brought the sandwich to her mouth, Luz’s eyes caught onto an unfamiliar light, and she tilted her head up to get a better look. Above her, on a balcony she had never noticed, light poured out brilliantly and backlit a single silhouette. She strained her eyes in an attempt to recognize the figure, and upon realizing who it was her eyes widened in surprise. Amity.

She was standing out in the rain in a loose pale blue nightdress. Her hands stretched open to the sky, head tossed back and eyes closed, breathing the soft droplets in. The light hit her in such a way that it made Luz almost drop her food. The brightness of the room wasn’t the only thing radiating light, she was too, if not literally then in the sense she was full of a spirit of freedom, of being alive. Luz had never seen anything like it. It was an intimate moment, just her and the sky and the water that spattered against her perfect skin. She had never seen a person look just as alive as the princess did right then, thinking she was alone, rain soaking into her expensive clothes, absorbed in herself and the world.

Her heart told her to call out, to tell her just how beautiful she looked there, but her brain was more cautious, or perhaps greedier, and didn’t want to lose this moment, this picture of a beautiful girl in the rain. A thought occurred for her to draw her, to memorize this shape of a person and immortalize it in pen and paper in a way she could never have to forget because it would always be right there for her to reach out and look at, but before she could even think to find a piece of paper, the princess moved.

Her eyes flickered open and she gazed out into the courtyard, dropping her hands to her side and scanning for a moment as if she had sensed another presence. Quickly, her gaze latched on to Luz, and her calm expression changed into something stonier.

And Luz watched as she put her walls back up.

Luz hadn’t noticed her mouth hanging open and promptly shut it, eyes going wide in the surprise of being caught. Suddenly she felt guilty, like a little boy accidentally wandering into the women’s change room and staring a little too long before being shooed out. Her intrusion on the moment was nothing like walking in on her naked, but felt almost worse. After all, the only thing the princess seemed to actually enjoy was the moments she was alone, and now Luz had ruined that. Her face burned red.

The princess still didn’t move, so Luz decided to raise one hand, a simple hello.

Amity watched Luz move, her eyes latched onto her guard like a hawk on its prey, and her brow furrowed. Her hand twitched slightly as she raised it, just enough for Luz to see, returning the gesture. She then turned on her heel and retreated to her rooms without another movement or word.

As soon as the princess left, Luz dropped her hand and buried her burning face in her hands. The embarrassment of being caught combined with the unprofessional thoughts of how beautiful the girl had looked made her want to sink into the ground, but the solid cement stubbornly didn't give way, and Luz stayed in her curled up spot, only able to think about one thing. 

About how when the princess left, she had been blushing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pro tip: don’t skip ur physics class right before a test. Coming from a place of knowledge on this one guys...


	3. Lemon Bars and Strawberry Puffs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a failed attempt at winning over the princess with her charm, Amity finally begins to warm up to her new guard. 🍰🫖🍮

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Suck on my toes then.”—Shannon_shannon_shannon 2020

Luz was determined to win over the princess.

Since the night before, when she had seen her up on that balcony standing alone in the rain and looking more beautiful than anything in the universe, she'd stayed up scheming. Once she knew the princess had walls that could come down she wanted to know what it would feel like to climb them, reach the other side, and see a whole new side to this girl who she thought she’d figured out. And Luz was never one to back down from a challenge.

When she entered the princess's rooms the next morning, it was early, so early that she expected the princess to be sleeping peacefully alone. Except, when Luz entered the room, the princess wasn't in her bed. Rumpled sheets made it clear the princess had slept there, but from there it was a mystery, and Luz's heart began to thud painfully quick in her chest. She couldn't have lost the princess on the first day.

Anxiously she raced into the middle of the room and began to look around. If she wasn't in her bed, then maybe her closet? The thought struck her, and she almost slipped on the plush carpet as she ran into Amity's closet, accidentally slamming into the half-dressed princess.

"Watch it!" Amity barked, gathering up the dress she was holding and using it to cover her exposed body.

Luz's eyes went wide, and she swiveled around as quickly as possible. "Oh my god. Oh my god, I'm so, so sorry!" she blurted, cheeks going a tomato red in embarrassment. "I had no idea where you were, so I got worried."

Amity groaned loudly, also blushing at being walked in on. "It's—just don't do it again, okay?"

Luz had expected the princess to go off like a volcano but she was surprisingly calm about the intrusion, and she heaved a sigh in relief. "I'm sorry again. I wasn't really thinking, I couldn’t find you, and I guess I lost my cool. It won't ever happen again, princess, I promise."

Amity squeezed her eyes shut. "Just, leave me to get changed, please."

"Oh, oh my gosh, yeah. Yeah, I'm leaving! Er, I'm in the other room if you need me." She stammered, hightailing it out of the room as fast as she could.

It took Amity a few more minutes to get ready, so Luz just stood on the room's outskirts and memorized the pattern of the crown molding, eyes following the ornate detailing of the woodwork. The longer she spent in the princess's rooms, the more in love with them she fell.

Not only were the walls painted a brilliant peach color, but there were subtle deeper pink accent walls that one would only be able to pick up on if they spent a lot of time there. Both the crown molding and the baseboards were intricately carved dark oak, nothing like the more simple wood framing in the servant rooms, and the longer she looked, the more lost she got in it. Besides just the architecture of the walls, the room was obviously designed for comfort. The floors were a plush carpet that you couldn't help but sink into. All the bedding was silk that matched the hue of the walls, and on top of it all, the curtains that hung separating the room from the balcony and courtyard gardens below were a rich velvet Luz had never had the pleasure of seeing before.

The princess’s rooms contained not only a bedroom, but a full bathroom, closet twice the size of Luz's room, and little parlor area for entertaining that Amity rarely went in. Then, of course, there was the princess's teatime setup positioned perfectly to overlook the courtyard, and she had noticed, even though she had been working for her for only a day now, that it was her favorite spot in the entire palace.

“You may turn around now.” Said the princess quietly behind her, and Luz spun around to face her.

She was now wearing a lilac day dress with tiny white shoes and a simple circlet on top of her pin-straight hair. She gave Luz an unenthusiastic look, and the guard smiled.

"You look great." She complimented, back on her plan to win the princess's good graces.

"Thanks," Amity replied in the most monotone voice Luz had ever heard, obviously not interested in listening to the girl talk.

Not letting that sway her, the guard walked over and attempted to keep the conversation going. "I was wondering, if I may ask, why don't you have your maid dress you? I mean, you are a princess and all, and I guess I just thought…" she trailed out, suddenly realizing she had no idea where this was going at all.

Amity tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Um, well, I just really like my independence." She said slowly. "I've never really been asked, but ever since I was young, I've preferred being alone."

"Which is why you're not a fan of me being here." Luz nodded, connecting the dots. "Because my presence is literally the opposite of independence."

Amity's eyes skirted away, and she smoothed her skirts. "Indeed."

There was an awkward silence for a beat, and for a moment it looked as though Amity would finally have her peace, but just before she could go sit down and tune out the noise as she read her book, Luz picked up the conversation again.

"I'll do my best to stay out of your way then," Luz said softly, giving the princess a slight smile. "You didn't ask for this, so it's in my best etiquette to leave you be."

Amity's eyebrows shot up. "Um. As you please." She said.

"But," Luz started, halfway turned around. "I do talk a lot, so if I'm ever getting annoying, tell me to stop."

The princess gave her guard a long look, and Luz finally turned around and faced the door again. "Okay." She muttered softly, not loud enough for Luz to hear. "But I doubt it'll stop you anyway."

***

_A few weeks later_

Amity’s eyes kept flickering back to Luz. They were in her rooms, like they usually were, and Amity was bored out of her mind. The book she had been assigned to read for Madam Lilith on the history of the Boiling Isles was a bore, and before she knew it, her thoughts wandered away from the dull history and onto her bodyguard, humming to herself by the door.

Luz had been her guard for only a few weeks now, but every day the girl became just the slightest bit more interesting. For one, she knew virtually everybody in the castle. It seemed as though whenever the two of them rounded a corner, someone waved and called out to her. Secondly, she seemed incapable of being quiet, constantly rambling on and on about random things and trying to whisk her into a conversation, and lastly, perhaps the weirdest thing of all, she hadn’t given up on Amity yet.

Unlike the many servants Amity had filtered through over the years, Luz seemed persistent to become her friend. She was unlike anyone she’d met before, as usually people were perturbed by her ‘ice queen’ personality. Luz talked to her, if not for purely selfish reasons, to ease the silence that Amity was beginning to realize was her guard’s least favorite thing.

Whenever long stretches of silence would ensue in the late hours of the afternoon when Amity wasn’t distracted with other royal duties, Luz would always try to spark up some sort of conversation. She would mention the weather, or Amity’s shoes, or anything at all to avoid the tension surrounding the stillness when the two girls sat together.

Amity had been waiting her entire life to meet someone who would just sit with her and enjoy the tranquility, whereas Luz seemed to be looking for someone to fill it with. Maybe if Luz wasn’t, well, wasn’t her bodyguard, and they lived in some sort of alternate universe, then perhaps they could be friends. Perhaps Amity would even compromise and agree to fill silences as long as Luz didn’t press her further when she wanted the quiet she so craved.

Amity, unlike nearly anyone she had ever met, preferred the quietness, for that was the best time for thinking. She was always thinking. There was no great question left unanswered. There was no possibility she hadn’t gone over a billion times in her head. Everything was planned and prepared for in the long hours of quietude, everything, that is, except one short-haired girl who had an affinity for talking, even when asked not to, and who just wanted to be friends with everyone.

There had never been an anomaly in Amity’s life like Luz before, and it was only a matter of time before the princess decided to let her in. In fact, it only took one more week.

“Luz,” Amity called from her tea table by the window. She was wearing an elegant light blue spring dress, even though it was summer, and she had laced her gloved hands in her lap. She was wearing a matching hat with her outfit, and Luz had been holding back a rather rude remark about it all day. It wasn’t kind to insult the princess’s headwear.

“Yes, princess?” Luz asked, peering out from the door and at Amity. “Do you need anything?”

Amity took a long breath as though preparing herself to regret the next words out of her mouth. “Actually, I do need help with something. Do you think you could taste this pastry for me?”

Luz’s brow shot up, and she edged closer to Amity, further from the door. “What?” she questioned, feeling as though this were some sort of trap.

“I've been delivered pastries from the kitchen to taste test for my party in a few weeks, but I'm having trouble figuring out which one is my favorite. Would you help me?” Amity tilted her head innocently, which usually got her her way, and Luz crept a few more steps forward.

“You mean,” she began, “that you want me to come sit at your fancy tea table you have told me multiple times to not sit at, and eat pastries with you? Are you feeling quite alright? I can call the doctor.”

Amity rolled her eyes and smiled softly at the guard’s playfulness. “No, I'm not ill. I just need input. Sit.”

With a direct order like that Luz couldn’t say no. Legally. Legally she couldn’t say no, but Amity’s persuasion would have been enough anyway.

“So, what are our options?” Luz asked, settling down on the chair carefully, as though she were afraid it would shatter into a million pieces as soon as she sat down.

“Hmm,” Amity mused, “Well, there’s strawberry puffs, lemon bars, apple pie pockets, berry pound cake, blueberry jam and sweet biscuits—”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down. I'm still on strawberry puffs.” Luz interrupted, reaching a hand out for what looked like a strawberry puff.

“That’s a strawberry meringue.” Amity pointed out, and Luz’s hand hovered in place, unsure of where to go.

The platter of pastries were more extravagant than any food Luz had ever seen. They often got leftovers from the fancy dinners in the kitchen, but that didn’t mean there were any left when Luz got back from her shift. Her excitement and eagerness got ahead of her, and she froze in indecisiveness.

“I—I don't know what to try!” She finally exclaimed, her hand falling back into her lap. “I don't think I'm the right girl for this job princess, sorry.”

She began to rise, intending to return to her post, when Luz felt the girl reach out and take hold of her left hand. “Oh, come on, try just one,” Amity said, an unfamiliar fondness glimmering in her golden eyes.

For a moment Luz faltered, unsure of what to do, then plopped back into her chair. “Fine.” She said, “But I am not choosing which one of these monstrosities to eat. You chose.”

Luz’s eyes widened comically when Amity began to laugh. Her shock barely registered, and Luz’s cheeks went a bright cherry red. It wasn’t that she was flustered, but rather that she was surprised. Surprised that the princess who had once acted as though she didn’t exist had just laughed at something she had said.

“What’s wrong?” Amity asked the red-faced girl. “Overwhelmed?”

Luz nodded her head a few times. “Yeah, something like that, yeah.”

Amity hummed and turned her attention from her guard and back to the platter. After what seemed like hours of weighing each pastry choice in her head, Amity settled on the lemon bar and picked one up gently in her hand.

Instead of acting like a normal person, or in her case, a princess, Amity grabbed Luz’s chin and tilted her head towards her while placing a bit of the lemon bar in her mouth. Luz’s eyes went wide again, and she took the piece on her tongue into her mouth and began to chew it. The look on her face went from surprised to outright jovial as the taste of the lemon bar exploded on her taste buds. The treat was equally sweet and sour at the same time, and to top it off, was slightly warm, as if just taken out of the oven. The treat was fit for royalty, certainly, and Luz was positive she had never tasted something so decadent.

“Whoa…” she said slowly after chewing. “That was…”

“Delicious?” Amity offered, and Luz nodded vigorously.

“That was, that was the best thing I've ever tasted. Wow. Um,” She turned back towards the princess. “Thank you so much. That was—”

“It was nothing.” Amity interrupted. “Consider it an olive branch, for me having been so sour and off-putting these last couple of days. I guess I wasn’t exactly expecting for you to be, well, you.”

Luz gazed upwards towards the princess, and was once again, like the night in the rain, enthralled by her beauty. Amity seemed to glow in the afternoon light, refracting off of her long brown hair in a way which brought out red highlights which were otherwise invisible in the dark. The slight dusting of blush on her cheeks brought out a wintered, rosy look which contrasted against her stark-white skin. She was ethereal, beautiful, but also so, so fragile. She was porcelain, like a doll, all dressed up and pampered. She was this dangerously beautiful doll, locked away in a tower, patiently waiting for her prince charming to whisk her away. And it was in that moment that Luz realized it was no wonder she hadn’t let her in all that easily—she was afraid of being broken.

“You were sort of aggressive.” Luz agreed, remembering herself and tearing her eyes from her staring. “But I understand why. You didn’t ask for anything like this, so I get it.”

Amity nodded slightly. “I mean, not to offend, but I can take care of myself on my own. It wasn’t exactly my favorite idea to have someone else be doing that. Not to mention that person being someone I had never even met.”

“No, I get it,” Luz said. “I am still a stranger, and I shouldn’t have expected you to be my friend upon first meeting.”

Amity’s mind replayed their first conversation and how she had snapped at her, and that familiar twinge of guilt reappeared. “I mean, you don't have to be a stranger anymore.” She offered. “If you’d like, I’d love to hear about you.”

Luz’s surprise quickly morphed to playfulness and she wiggled her eyebrows. “Look who wants to be my friend now?”

Amity reddened under her blush, and rolled her eyes. “Don’t push it Noceda.”

“Fine, fine.” Luz surrendered, holding up her hands. “Well then, what do you want to know?”

Amity thought it over for a minute. “I guess, since you know all about my family and I know nothing of yours, how about we start there.”

Luz smiled at the suggestion. “Okay, perfect. Well, there’s me, then my mom, Camila, and our dog, King. My friends, who are really more like family honestly, are Willow and Gus. They both work here, and I mean, it's not a giant family like yours, but I love them all more than anything.”

Amity brightened at the mention of King. “Oh, I love dogs! My dad keeps some, but they’re all hunting dogs, so not really my speed. Maybe you can sneak King in here one day. That would be pretty cool!”

Luz blinked a few times, processing Amity referring to the king as ‘dad.’ “I don't know how easy that would be…” she began, thinking about it more. “But I guess I can see what I can do. Shouldn’t be the hardest thing in the world, sneaking a dog into the palace.”

Amity grinned broadly, a look Luz had yet to see on the girl. “Please?” she asked, and Luz’s heart did a little summersault.

Amity Blight didn’t say please, that was something she was 100% positive of. Amity was a princess; please wasn’t in her vocabulary.

“I—I can figure it out.” She stuttered, suddenly feeling too overwhelmed to continue the conversation, something that had never happened to her before. “Um, well, I think that you should for sure go with the lemon bars. I am going to, er, head back to my post. Call me if you need anything.” She rushed, then pushed away from the table without another word and made her way back to the door.

Amity reached out slightly, then dropped her hand into her lap. What had she done wrong, if anything? Was it the tarts? The prying? Regardless, Amity decided it was best to calm down and keep the room quiet for the rest of the night. She could do silence.

But as she was finding out, talking wasn’t all that bad either. Not when it was with Luz.


	4. When Gazing Full She Fills the Glade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late nights and somewhat stupid decisions.  
> 🌃🍺😳

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is from Moonlight by Sappho so don't go thinking I'm that poetic. Im just gay. Also I’ve been writing about these characters so long that I sometimes forget they have a tv show. Like. I’ve made them their own people in my head; it’s weird...

It was late. 

The princess should have been in bed an hour ago, but she found herself still bright and awake, sitting on her balcony and staring at the stars in hopes that sleep might come for her soon.

Amity often stayed up when the sky was clear. She liked the stars, and so when the air was crisp and the sky was void of clouds, for hours and hours, she would sit under the stars and make wishes, hoping that one day she might have someone to share the stars with. 

And even on nights where the night sky was obscured by clouds and grey, she would usually stay up to appreciate the solitude. The night was the only time where she could be truly alone—the only time where no one’s eyes were on her—no one’s expectations placed on her shoulders, dragging her, pulling her down. At night she was liberated from the duties of royal life, and she felt at peace, but lately her nights had been filled with insistent wondering, thoughts which would not leave her be. The ball…her birthday…marriage…

She wanted nothing to do with any of it.

So she was awake, cursed with insomnia that kept her up at all hours, but, for once she wasn’t the only one.

The chilly summer night’s air was starting to get to her, and Amity shivered, hugging her arms to her chest to try and keep in some of the heat the night was stealing from her. She had half a mind to just head in and collapse into the piles of pillows waiting for her inside her rooms, but just when she was about to give in and get up, something caught her eye.

The courtyard was dark, brimming with shadows, but every once in a while there would be a break from the darkness and a spot of light would appear from the shining moon above. In one of those spots, to the side of the building, was a lone figure. She was leaning against the same pole Amity had caught her staring from that first day they had met when she was out enjoying the rain. Her arms were crossed across her chest, looking right up at Amity with a mischievous look in her eyes that the princess would have been able to spot from a mile away.

Luz.

As the princess caught her eye, Luz pushed herself off of the stone pillar, eyebrow raised and shook her head like a disapproving mother. “It's late, princess.” She called from below, stalking closer to the balcony, and Amity broke out into a grin.

“You're still up.” She pointed out, and Luz shrugged, her figure slipping in and out of the darkness.

“It's my job to be up,” Luz replied, reaching the edge of where the balcony overlooked and staring up at the princess, moonlight refracting off of her brown hair.

Amity leaned over the railing and rolled her eyes at the guard’s antics. “Yeah, _right_. Your shift ended like three hours ago.”

“What, you’ve memorized my schedule now?” Luz shot back, and Amity shrugged.

“Maybe.”

Luz’s lips twitched upwards. “Well, then, for your information, I couldn’t sleep. What’s your excuse?”

Amity drew a slow breath. “Oh, you know, my head is always turning out thoughts. I've just been out here, thinking, looking at the stars…and also I couldn’t sleep.”

“Looks like we’re in the same boat,” Luz said.

“Sure looks like it.”

Luz fell silent for a moment, deep in thought, and Amity took the moment to examine her further. She wasn’t in her normal guard uniform, but was instead dressed in more casual clothing. Her hair was endearingly mussed, as if she had tried to fall asleep but couldn't, and if she had been up there Amity might have smoothed it out, fixing where it snarled and stuck up.

 _That's a weird thought to have._ She noted, but before she could overanalyze and dwell on that any further, Luz scrunched her nose and made an usure humming noise, a look on her face like she might regret the next words out of her mouth.

“Would you…no, no. I'm supposed to keep you out of trouble…” she started, abandoning her idea.

Amity pouted. “Oh, come on! Tell me. Tell me.”

Luz looked around quickly as if she was waiting for someone to pop out of the shadows and make her leave the princess alone, but no one jumped from the shadows, and she heaved a sigh. “Do you really want to know?” she asked, “Because it could end terribly.”

Amity gave the guard a playful smile and shrugged. “Things that end terribly always are a lot of fun.” She replied, challenging Luz with her gaze.

“Well,” Luz replied grinning. “Then I was going to ask if you wanted to maybe…go somewhere…”

That caught Amity’s attention.

“You mean like out of the palace?” she asked, on the edge of her seat. “Out into town?”

Luz looked down and licked her lips anxiously. “I mean, only if you want to, and if we don't get caught—”

“Yes.” Amity interrupted. “Yes, yes, yes! God, I've wanted to go into town forever. Bring me, Luz, please?”

Luz inhaled sharply at Amity’s ‘please,’ and a blush dusted her cheeks.

“Not a word of this to anyone.” She said quickly, averting her eyes from the princess. “I’ll be up in 5. Put on a dress no one will recognize you in.”

Amity nodded, giving Luz a mock salute which the guard rolled her eyes at. “My lips are sealed.” she assured her, and Luz shot the princess one last glance before disappearing into the shadows and leaving Amity alone on the balcony, staring excitedly after her.

***

Luz arrived just over 5 minutes later with two rather dusty looking cloaks.

She opted for the servants entrance that allowed her access to the princess’s rooms without having to deal with the guard in the front, and when she finally made it to her rooms, Amity was sitting by the window wearing something a lot less frilly than anything she usually wore in front of her guard.

“You ready?” Luz asked, coming up from behind.

The princess jumped slightly at the sudden noise and turned. When she saw who it was, she broke out into a grin.

“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my entire life.” She replied, rising from her seat with pure excitement on her face.

“Perfect, now grab this,” Luz said, holding out one of the cloaks. “We’re sneaking out.”

Amity grabbed the cloak and put it on quickly. Then, without any warning, she reached out and grabbed Luz’s hand. “So I don't lose you.” She reasoned, but the action felt slightly more personal than that.

Luz’s heart did that stupid summersault thing again, and she tried not to blush.

“Stay close.” She whispered and tugged Amity with her as they headed out the secret door in the wall next to the closet.

The servants’ corridors were dark as a crypt, and Amity squeezed Luz’s hand a little tighter as they ran down them. Every once in a while Luz would make a random sharp turn, and the two of them would crash into each other, but soon the girl stopped and gestured for Amity to be quiet.

When they stepped out into the light, the two were at the kitchens right near where people in the other room could be heard talking loudly. There was an exit to their right where all the produce would come in each day, and where there was usually some random guard stationed next to the service door, a familiar figure stood, and Luz rushed over and tapped on his shoulder.

“Gus!” she half-whispered; half spoke.

The guard, one of Luz’s close friends, spun around quickly and broke into a grin.

“Luz! You're up late.” He noted, then looked behind her. “Whoa, wait is that the—”

“Shhh!” Luz interrupted quickly, eyes going wide, and shifted herself to cover Amity. “It’s no one.” She lied.

“Um,” Gus scratched his head and leaned to peer around Luz, confused. “That looks a lot like the pr—”

“Gus!” Luz scolded. “We’re being discrete!”

The guard looked back and forth between Luz and the not-well-hidden princess rapidly. “Er, okay?”

“We need to get out of here,” Luz said. “We’re going into town; can you cover for us?”

Gus scratched his head again. “I mean, isn’t it late?” he asked.

“Cover, please?” Luz begged, and Gus gave in, sighing deeply.

“I know better than to argue with you. Just...just be back by 2.” He said, reaching behind him and opening the door. “That’s when my shift is done.”

Luz beamed, throwing her arms up and pulling her friend into a hug. “You're the best.” She exclaimed, and Gus flushed just a little at the praise.

“Just don't be late.” He said, and Luz nodded rapidly.

“Let’s go…” she stopped for a moment and turned back to the princess. “Wait, what should I call you now?”

Amity rushed forward and pulled the two of them out the door so Gus could close it. Once they were far enough away, she turned back.

“You can call me Amity now.” The princess said, blushing. “I mean, we are friends.”

Luz looked up at the princess with a surprised expression, then shook her head. “I—I'm your friend.” She said, more to herself than to Amity. “But wait. Everyone knows the princess’s name. I have to come up with something different.”

Amity sighed. “Just don't make it stupid.” She said as the two of them started down the alleyway and out on the path towards town which would take them there in under twenty minutes.

“Hmm,” Luz mused, stepping in stride with the princess so that they were walking in sync. “What about Ames?” she asked. “It's enough like your real name, but no one is going to mistake it for the princess’s name.”

Butterflies erupted in Amity’s stomach at the pet name, and she had to turn her head so Luz couldn’t see the giant blush that had taken over her face.

“I—It’s not bad.” She said softly, and Luz smiled.

“Ames…” she said again, testing the name on her tongue. “Let’s go cause some chaos.”

“I’ve been waiting for someone to say that to me my entire life.” Amity joked, and Luz turned back and gave the princess a long look, catching her eye, and smiled a soft, vulnerable smile.

“You’re lucky I'm here then.” she whispered.

“I guess I am.” Amity whispered back, and they ran into town.

***

The pub was lively for midnight.

It was usually not so busy on a weeknight, but with the princess’s birthday ‘ball’ event that upcoming weekend, various nobles and a random assortment of peasants had rolled into the capital city to enjoy the event.

Since the princess was coming of age, not only would she have an event for her close friends and family, but the whole kingdom would be celebrating, and the town would hold a festival in her honor, one that she would never actually attend.

Luckily, as they entered, Luz spotted an empty booth in the very back of the pub and pulled Amity along behind her. The princess pulled her cloak well over her face and was trying her best to blend in. Fortunately none of the patrons of the establishment were looking for the princess among them, and they settled in unnoticed.

“It's busy.” The princess noted. “Is it always this busy?”

Luz shook her head and grabbed a menu with the drinks on it. She already knew what she was going to order, but it was best to busy herself with something for safety’s sake.

“Nope, usually it's empty.” She said, gesturing for Amity to do the same. “They’re all here for your birthday.”

Amity grabbed a menu and shot Luz a confused look. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Some are here because they’re nobles in town who are coming to the palace for your party, but most of them are just here for the festival. You know.”

Amity looked around at the various men and women mulling around the restaurant in awe, and it occurred to Luz that she had never been in a situation like this, out of the palace and in the real world among her people.

“There are so many people Luz. I don't think I've ever been around this many normal people.”

Luz knew she wasn’t being mean when she said, ‘normal people,’ but she never missed an opportunity to poke fun at the princess. “Normal people?” she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Amity sent her guard an exasperated look. “You know what I mean!” she defended.

“Yeah, yeah,” Luz admitted as a woman came over to take their order.

When the woman stopped at the table, Amity shrunk back in her seat slightly, but the woman didn’t even give her a second look. “What do you want?” she asked in a monotone voice, pulling out a notebook and pencil.

“Two of your finest ales,” Luz replied, shooting Amity a wink.

The lady rolled her eyes and jotted down the order. “Coming right up.” She replied, then left without another word.

“Ale?” Amity questioned. “I've never drank ale before.”

Luz put her menu down and placed an elbow on the table, leaning in towards the princess. “Oh well, you are in for quite the treat. This place has the best ale in the whole county.”

She was lying, of course. There was no such thing as ‘the best ale.’ It all tasted like shit.

“Ohh, fancy.” Amity drawled, and Luz chuckled.

“The fanciest.”

After just a moment, the woman returned with two glasses filled to the brim with a dirty brown liquid that, as soon as it was placed in front of Amity, caused her to scrunch her nose up in disgust.

“It smells like piss.” She said after the lady had gone.

“And it tastes like it too,” Luz replied, grabbing her cup and taking a big swig.

Amity eyed her cup warily. “You said it was the finest.”

“Yes,” Luz said. “And I lied. Very sorry, Ames.”

She didn’t sound very sorry.

Amity reached out and pulled the cup to her lips. She hesitated upon smelling the liquid again and almost gagged. “This is going to taste gross, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Hey,” Luz defended. “It was your idea to come to town.”

“It was not!” Amity complained.

“Just drink!” Luz pressured, and Amity reluctantly took a tiny sip.

Almost immediately, she placed the glass down and started retching, looking for anything to remove that putrid taste from her mouth. She found a small dish of peanuts back against the wall and grabbed a handful, wolfing them down gracelessly.

“Didn’t like it?” Luz teased, and Amity glared daggers at her.

“You're an awful person.” She said.

“I know,” Luz replied, grinning. “And you're stuck with me.”

Amity sputtered for a moment, looking for some sort of comeback, but coming up with nothing. Defeated, she leaned back in the booth and opted to simply stare her guard down. Luz, who didn’t mind the attention at all, winked flirtatiously at her, and Amity went red.

“Shut up.” She grumbled.

“I didn’t say anything,” Luz replied cheerily, and Amity groaned, shoving her head in her hands.

“You're flirting with me.” She accused.

Luz’s stomach flipped, but she didn’t deny it.

“So what if I am? You're still getting flustered, aren’t you?” After the princess didn’t reply, Luz shrugged. “You're not denying it.”

Amity dared to look up at Luz. She was leaning in closer to her, and her face was pink as well, except, instead of Amity, she looked jovial. “I am not.” She finally whispered, which shut Luz right up.

She didn’t expect the princess to admit to that, and soon her face had turned from a light blush to a deep red.

“Are you going to drink that?” she asked the princess, gesturing to her rejected ale.

“No,” Amity replied, and Luz grabbed it, downing half the drink in one go.

Luz could feel Amity’s eyes boring into her as she drank, but with the mixture of the alcohol and the flirting, Luz couldn't get her cheeks to cool down, and Amity staring at her sure wasn’t helping. Maybe it was a big mistake to take Amity out because the more time the guard spent with her, the more and more she liked her. In fact, Luz hadn’t ever met someone who intrigued her as much as the princess did. It seemed that no matter what she did to try and distract her, Luz would find herself staring at the princess for hours in the afternoon while she was doing her work, and would find herself going scarlet whenever she would get caught. The princess was nothing like she expected. Nothing at all.

“You're cute.” Amity said offhandedly when Luz finally put down her cup, and Luz’s heart began another gymnastics routine.

“Shut up.” She shot back, looking away from the princess shyly, and Amity’s lips curled at her guard’s bashfulness.

And as Luz let her eyes flick back to her friend, one thing became incredibly clear. 

She was _so_ screwed. 


	5. Silver Over Gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz gives the princess a birthday gift.  
> 🎁
> 
> (Summaries suck. Why did I do written summaries again???)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *falls dramatically onto fancy chaise lounge*  
> Writing is harrrrrddddddddd!!!!!  
> Looking at colleges suckkkkksssss  
> I’m losing my minnnnndddddddddd!!!!  
> Alas!!! Someone come to my house and put me out of my misery already!!!  
> (Genuinely this is a call for help. Writing is hard. Someone remind me why I’m doing this again??? For the gays?? Fine. Fine but I’m gonna be bitter.)
> 
> (If u saw me spell colleges wrong, shut up)

A few days later, right as the sun peeked over the horizon, Luz entered Amity’s rooms quietly with a small oblong silver box concealed behind her back. She was hoping the princess would still be sleeping, and that she would have time to hype herself up before presenting her gift, but much to her surprise Amity was already wide awake when Luz arrived, standing by the tea table looking at her expectantly despite the early hour.

Her hair was pinned up, styled so that nothing but two strands framed her face, various glittering gems and pins scattered around the soft brown curls. She was already powdered and had a brand-new pink lipstick that matched the blush on her cheeks. It was almost miraculous how coordinated and put together she looked for it being so early, elegant and polished in her dark navy dress with a plunging neckline Luz had trouble tearing her eyes from.

“Good morning!” Amity chirped, holding her steaming morning tea in her hands. She had a warm smile on her face that Luz had noticed more and more often in the recent weeks, and when her eyes settled on Luz they lit up the room.

“Well, you're certainly off to a bright start. Something important happening today?” 

The princess flashed Luz a playful eyeroll and placed down her cup, walking up to her bodyguard and fussing with the lapels of her pressed suit. “Haven’t you been paying any attention?” she asked, flicking her eyes to Luz’s and stepping away. “It's my birthday.”

Luz gulped at the sudden closeness in proximity, and a reddish tint dusted her cheeks as she suppressed a grin. “Oh, I had completely forgotten.” She fibbed, cheeks already scarlet as she kept her gaze level with the princess. “Must have completely slipped my mind.”

“Of course.” Amity drawled, smoothing her dress.

Luz’s eyes dropped to Amity’s plunging neckline again. “Of course.” She echoed, fiddling with the little box behind her back.

Although it wasn’t very formal of her, Luz had gotten the princess a gift to celebrate her adulthood. It was an accident, a total accident, but when she had seen the silver chain in the store the other day, well, she couldn’t think of anyone else deserving of it. And even though the princess was likely to have thousands upon thousands of beautiful pieces of jewelry at her disposal, she hoped that hers might hold some sort of sentimental value if nothing else.

“I see that you're hiding something behind your back.” The princess pointed out, and Luz averted her eyes to the ground, suddenly self-conscious of her present.

“Whaaat?” she asked facetiously. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

Amity raised an eyebrow and stepped closer to her guard, tugging on her sleeve. “Come on!” she persisted. “What is it?”

Luz’s blush deepened, and she met the princess’s gaze.  _ Why is she so close to me today? _ She thought, trying to ignore the feeling of Amity’s fingertips brushing against the sensitive skin of her wrist.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” She said quietly. “Nothing like the extravagant gifts you’ll get later tonight.”

Amity’s eyes went soft, and she pouted. “You got me something? Oh, Luz, you didn’t have to do that.”

Luz smiled, looking away. “I did, though.” She replied. “Just, um, promise you’ll tell me if you hate it.”

Amity shook her head dramatically. “Absolutely not. If you gave it, there’s no way in hell that I'm going to hate it.”

Luz blushed again and pulled the wrapped rectangular box from behind her back, presenting it to the princess with a shy smile. Amity took it almost instantly with the eagerness one would expect from a child opening presents on Christmas morning. As she tore into the ribbon and paper, Luz found her heart in her throat, and her head supplied a billion different possible reactions to the gift.

It didn’t take long for the princess to remove the wrapping, and soon she had it open to the delicate piece of jewelry inside. When her eyes first latched onto the piece, she risked a look back up at Luz, eyes already glistening on the edge of tears. 

“You really didn't have to.” She mumbled quietly, eyes glued to the piece as she picked the silver chain up.

The necklace was a simple silver locket, much plainer than anything Amity would typically wear, with small detailing surrounding the letter ‘A’ carved into the front. Luz hadn’t really expected this much of a reaction from Amity as the gift was barely anything, if not slightly embarrassing for an 18th birthday present, but the princess looked as though she had never gotten such a marvelous gift in her entire life.

“Luz, it's beautiful…” she said quietly, running her finger along the surface of the locket.

“That’s not all.” Luz rushed, “There’s, um, there’s a note inside of it.”

Amity’s gaze shifted between Luz and the locket rapidly with puppy dog eyes. “A note?” she asked, and Luz couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked.

“Yes,” She said, taking the locket and opening it to reveal a miniscule folded piece of paper. “A note,” 

Amity gave her guard a cautious smile and grabbed the note, unfolding it gently so as not to rip the delicate paper. When it was fully unfolded, Amity choked back tears because on the note wasn't a letter, it was a drawing, a drawing of her, the princess. But this drawing wasn’t anything like the royal portraits in the front hall where her face was all stony and her hands laid crossed in her lap like a proper daughter, no, this was unlike any drawing or painting of herself Amity had ever seen. It was her on the balcony from all those weeks ago, the day they had met, where her arms were outstretched towards the sky and she smiled as the rain dripped down on her. Luz had managed to capture the memory perfectly. The Amity in that drawing was nothing like the Amity in real life, she was the one without the walls, the one who radiated light, the one who made one feel more alive by simply looking at her. Luz had captured, not the princess, not a Blight, but Amity. Just Amity.

When the princess looked back up at Luz after examining the paper, tears dripped down her face, muddling her makeup. Her hands gripped the piece of paper until her knuckles turned white and she feared the paper might rip. Luz couldn’t quite read the expression on the princess’s face, and her anxieties overtook her.

“Was it too much? Have I overstepped? Are you alright? Do you hate it? I can take it back if you hate it, but—” She started frantically, but before she could finish her sentence, Amity rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her.

“You idiot,” She said fondly, her voice rough with emotion, “It's perfect.”

Luz melted into the princess’s touch. They had never hugged like this before, if ever, and the alien feeling soon became one of comfort and solace, and Luz began to rub Amity’s back as she wiped her tears on her uniform. Luz didn't mind at all, and as Amity hugged her, she breathed in her scent like it was a drug. It should have been a crime for her to smell so good. The princess remained in her arms for a while, holding her tightly until her tears subsided, and she fell back onto her heels.

“Can you help me put it on please?” she asked as she folded the drawing back up and placed it carefully back into the locket.

Luz gave Amity a dumbfounded look. “But don't you have another necklace picked out?” she reasoned. “The pearls you’ve been talking to me about for days?”

Amity huffed and crossed her arms. “I want to wear yours.” she pushed.

“But the pearls—”

“But nothing.” Amity interrupted. “Now help me put this on. That’s an order.”

Luz couldn’t help but roll her eyes slightly at the girl’s stubbornness and gave in, grabbing the necklace from her hands. Amity turned her back, and Luz draped the chain around her neck and began attempting to fasten it. Their closeness in proximity caused a light sweat to break out on Luz’s brow as she tried very hard to make the stupid necklace close around her neck. After a few unsuccessful tries, Luz leaned in closer so that she might get a better look at the clasp. She hadn’t anticipated it to be this hard to close.

“Having trouble?” Amity asked, blushing deeply as Luz breathed warmly onto her neck.

“What makes you say that?” Luz joked, finally getting the contraption right and backing away from the princess. “I’m a master of clasping necklaces.”

“Sure,” Amity mumbled, trying to hide her face. “Well, um, thank you. I mean it. You didn’t have to do this. It might be one of the sweetest things anyone has done for me.”

Luz looked up at the girl abruptly. “Surely you don't mean that?” she asked.

Amity shuffled her feet, keeping her gaze far from her guard in embarrassment. “I mean it, truly. No one has ever…ever cared enough to do something like that.”

“Then obviously you haven’t been meeting the right people,” Luz replied, strangely angry for the princess’s sake. She had only known her a month or two, and she could see how amazing this girl was; how could others not see the same? She deserved more than shitty necklaces and drawings; Amity Blight deserved the whole world.

“Maybe not…” Amity mused for a moment before dismissing the thought, “But there’s not much I can do to fix that. There’s a birthday breakfast for me to get to, and if we don't start now, then I am going to be late. Late to my very own birthday breakfast, that won’t do at all!”

She shot Luz a final fond look, then started towards the door, not bothering to check if Luz was following her.

Luz was  _ always  _ just a few steps behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S. are u guys surprised they haven’t kissed yet??? Since when do I write slow burns 🙈


	6. Take My Hand, Take My Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A toast, a dance, and almost a confession.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun facts about this fic. This is the halfway point 6/12, but only page 36 of 87 in my google docs. It took me about one manic filled week to write everything, and it’s been finished since I started posting. There will be no set schedule anymore because I am impatient and want to be done releasing it by 2021. And then finally, the funnest fact of all, this is one of the longest writing pieces I've ever made, the longest being 34,000 words. This one will finish around 30,000. 
> 
> P.S. sorry for not getting to the comments on the last chapter! I’ve been studying for midterms/writing essays 🤮 and am a mess 😌🖐 Working on it, I promise 😘😘😘

The dining room clamored with noise from dinner, and Amity’s head throbbed. 

All day she had been poked, prodded—bombarded even—by throngs of people wishing her a happy birthday and good health; and as much as she appreciated it, the constant stream of people was becoming quickly overwhelming. She had bumped into nobles, servants, and even one misplaced 9-year-old prince at one point. By dinnertime, she was all but exhausted, yet there was still dinner and dancing to get through.

Her one last tether to sanity had been Luz. She had stuck by her all day as a friend, someone to lean on, and one to share the noise with. They had no chance to get away and enjoy some silence, so Luz kept the talking to a minimum when they were together, a gesture Amity greatly appreciated. Even now, during dinner, she stood across the room with her eyes on the princess, sending her silent support whenever another obnoxious nobleman tried to spark up a conversation.

If it were up to her, Amity would have spent her whole day in her rooms, reading her book while Luz rambled on about something in the background, every once in a while hopping over and taking a bite of whatever food she had as a snack. Oh, how she missed her usual days of blissful inanity, but she kept reminding herself that this was just one day. Just one day of insanity, and then she could retreat into her rooms again.

The first, second, and third courses passed in a haze of food, talking, and noise. Luz would occasionally wink in her direction, momentarily boosting her mood, but then the Earl of somewhere would try to talk to her about something, and the headache that was building would come throbbing back into her frontal cortex. The whole ordeal was positively grueling.

“Your attention, everyone!” The king’s voice boomed, drawing the eyes of everyone at the table. Immediately all side conversations fizzled out, and Amity turned towards her father, who was now standing with his cup in his lowered hand. “Now, first, I would like to thank everyone who has traveled here for making the journey, and everyone for all of their generous gifts. The royal family, and especially Amity, are very gracious for your presence and presents.”

Around the room various nobles chuckled at his weak joke and it took all of Amity’s self-control to keep from rolling her eyes.

“I will keep this short because I know how eager you all must be to dance, but I would just like to give a formal happy birthday to my youngest daughter. You are the sanest of us all!” he raised his glass of fine wine into the air and everyone at the table followed suit. “Happy Birthday Amity! Your mother and I wish you well as you enter adulthood!”

The table cheered at the toast, and Amity smiled graciously at the gesture. She was grateful for her parents putting something so lovely together, and although it hadn’t been her favorite thing ever, she knew that they cared.

“Thank you very much.” She said once the room had quieted. “Thank you all, actually.” She rose to address the diners. “If I may, I would like to share a toast of my own.” A servant handed her a glass of wine from behind her, and she took it, raising it towards her mother and father. The twins had been who-knows-where for the past two months, not even bothering to show up for her 18th birthday, but Amity hadn’t rather missed them all that much. It was fantastically quiet without them, and that alone was enough of a birthday present. “To my lovely parents who put this whole thing together: I love you both.”

Odalia and Alador both smiled warmly at their daughter, and the table erupted in another round of applause.

Feeling satisfied, Amity began to sit back down, but as she was doing so she caught Luz’s eye from across the room. She was leaned up against the wall, like she usually was, but there was something different to the look in her eye. Her gaze had a certain queerness to it, fondness maybe? Something more. Something Amity couldn’t quite place.

Luz’s eyes went wide upon getting caught, and Amity winked, causing the girl to become quite red in the face. Amity giggled to herself and went back to prodding her half-finished pasta with her fork. Something about making Luz blush just made her insides warm. Most things about Luz did.

***

Luz gazed longingly across the ballroom to where Amity was engaged in a waltz with an older looking gentleman.

She had been dismissed hours before the dinner began, told to take the day off even, but she had refused, content with keeping her eyes on Amity rather than attending the staff dinner they were holding in her honor. She much preferred the princess’s company anyway, even if she hadn’t had a chance to speak to her all evening, just getting to see her was enough.

There weren’t as many opportunities for Amity to sneak away from the festivities as Luz might have hoped, but she noticed that whenever it seemed there might be, Amity would start across the room towards Luz as fast as possible. Alas, she hadn’t ever gotten quite far enough to see her yet, since as soon as she would get a few steps away, someone would grab her by the hand and sweep her into a dance, conversation, or anything really which would distract her. 

Luz couldn’t help but begin to feel slightly jealous even if she knew she shouldn't be. Usually she had Amity all to herself, but it seemed as though this whole day she had been sharing her with everyone on the planet. There wasn’t a single moment they had together, besides that morning when the two of them had been alone, and for whatever reason Luz was getting restless.

Right when she was about to retire to her rooms for the night, she saw the princess apologizing to a stout older man and, after excusing herself, half-walked-half-ran towards Luz, not bothering to stop when anyone tried to butt in.

“Where…are you going?” she asked breathlessly, grabbing Luz’s hands and spinning the two around so Luz’s back was towards the party.

“I was going to head out,” Luz replied sheepishly. “Long day, and you're busy, I just thought…”

Amity’s face fell slightly, and Luz noticed as she carefully pieced it back together. “How about,” she thought for a moment, “How about we go on a short walk. I've been dying to get some fresh air, and I just told that man I was going to the bathroom anyway.”

Luz tilted her head. “No, no, you have your party. You don't need to leave it for silly old me.”

Amity rolled her eyes. “Oh, shush you. I'm not leaving because you’re grumpy; I’m leaving because if I have to talk to another old man about seeing their ‘eligible young son’ again I'm going to purposely choke on my champagne. Come on!” She tugged on Luz’s hands, and the guard gave in, letting herself be led out into the hallway.

Amity loosened her grip on one of Luz’s hands but kept hold of the other as the two started towards the courtyard. The walk outside was quick, and soon the noises of the party were muffled into oblivion, hidden behind stone walls. 

As soon as they were far enough away from all the people, Amity released Luz’s hand to twirl around in the cool summer air. The night was brisk and chilly, but neither of the girls cared since the party was much too stuffy and warm, and they were still sweating anyway; outside they could finally breathe.

“It's a lovely night.” Luz pointed out, watching as Amity continued to twirl around in the crisp evening air. She had changed dresses into something more fitting for eveningwear and stuck out in her elegant champagne-colored dress. In the dark she looked almost ethereal, as though she were the only bright thing in the garden, an angel bringing peace.

“It's always a lovely night,” Amity replied. “I love it out here, don't you?”

Luz smiled warmly at the pretty girl. “It’s always a lovely night when I’m with you.” She replied, forgetting herself.

Amity blinked rapidly a few times before shifting around awkwardly, eyes going to the ground. “I—” she started, trying to form the right words. “Would you like to dance?” she blurted, and Luz looked up in surprise.

“What?” she asked, eyes darting in confusion.

“Um, I asked if you wanted to dance,” Amity said softly, leveling her gaze with the guard, and giving her a shy smile.

“But there’s no music.” Luz pointed out.

“We can make music,” She replied, playful smile on her face as she held out her hand.

Luz’s gaze darted between Amity’s eyes and hand rapidly, in a panic. The action was incredibly informal of her, but her heart screamed for her to take the princesses hand. Then, taking a deep breath, Luz slipped her hand into Amity’s, and the princess tried to hide her pleased grin.

In one sweeping movement, Amity drew Luz in by her waist and began to twirl around the empty garden. It wasn’t much of a waltz or formal dance style, but had a cheery playfulness like the two were playing a game together. Amity hummed a pleasant tune under her breath as they spun around in circles. Luz was aware that this was bad. She knew it was informal. She knew, with everything in her, that the feelings she had been having were not rational, not reasonable, not possible, but still she let herself be swept up by Amity Blight anyways because, to her, even if it were all a big mistake, even if it would only end in heartbreak and pain, the feeling of Amity’s hand in hers, seeing her smile, laugh, blush—it was all worth it. It would always be worth it.

And she realized, at the same time Amity did, that in that moment the two of them were something new, something rare, something unexpected.

Not only were they two girls dancing under the billion stars in the garden of a brilliant palace; they were something much more.

They were, maybe for the first time in either of their lives, in love.


	7. The Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exactly what the title says

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I legit forgot I needed to post until 930, and then, if that wasn’t already bad, fixed all of my edits (thanks inuonlytwo) while my computer was on 5%. Today is a bit of a disaster????? Love it tho! 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy this short chapter of bliss in the meanwhile, as soon the waters are going to get a bit rough 🙃

The twins were back.

After over two months, two months where Amity was given a personal guard, during which they were gallivanting off who-knows-where, after two months of silence, peace, and tranquility, two freaking months, they decided to come rolling back into the castle, interrupting Luz and her on the way to their picnic.

In preparation for the ball the next day Amity’s parents had requested a family meeting that evening after dinner. She was summoned to her father’s rooms to talk logistics with both of the twins and her mother, which meant that tonight was going to be very loud, very unreasonable, and very, very anxiety-inducing. It was Luz’s idea for the two of them to go out and get a breath of fresh air.

Luz. Fuck. Luz.

Everything about her relationship with her guard had become more complex since her birthday, and they could both feel it. There was much more silence now, both girls dancing around the fear that any word exchanged between them would only add to the piling electricity in the air. The current only grew larger in the stillness, much to their dismay, and neither of them had a clue of what to do.

Every touch made her heart ache. Every smile gave her butterflies. She had become tangled in a web of inhibition, inaction, and lies. Lies that were not explicit—but lies nonetheless—in that the longer she kept her feelings hidden the less chance there was that she would voice them. Not because they would disappear, but because after tomorrow Luz would no longer be her bodyguard, and the princess would be set up to be someone’s wife.

Tomorrow she would be the belle of the ball. The ball where she was to find herself a prince. The ball she had been looking forward to all summer. The ball that she wanted to disappear, never be brought up again, and let her and Luz alone in their silence full of words they only wished they could say.

The twins rumbled down the main road leading up to the palace. Amity could tell it was them immediately, not by the carriage itself, but by both Edric and Emira hanging out the windows and shouting at the coach to stop so that they might say hello to their darling sister.

Sure enough, as soon as the carriage came close to Luz and Amity it stopped, and the crown prince and princess tumbled out face-first onto the grass below.

_ At least they’re presentable. _ Amity thought silently, giving her siblings a once over.

They hadn’t changed much in two months. Edric was still tall and lanky and looked as though he could be knocked over by a sudden gust, and Emira still wore the pants of the siblingship, hands on her hips laughing heartily at her fallen brother. Edric had on one of his nicer suits, something that their father would like on him, maybe even compliment, and Emira donned some brown gown which managed not to make her look all that terrible even though everyone knows brown is an awful color for a gown.

“Mittens!” Edric called, scrambling up and rushing towards Amity. “We’re back!”

The crown prince tackled his younger sister in a bone-crushing hug, and Amity sighed deeply, letting herself be squished.

“I can see that.” She replied, bored. “Where the hell have you been?”

Emira entered the hug and began to squeeze both of her siblings hard. “Out.” Was all she said. “Doing things.”

“What—ugh,” Amity tore herself from the suffocating embrace. “What things?”

“Well, we traveled.” Emira started. “Went all over the country.”

“EMIRA KISSED A WOMAN!” Edric interrupted, and Emira replied by punching her brother in the arm.

“Shut up!” she grumbled, blushing slightly. “Dad would freak.”

Something coiled in Amity’s stomach, and she shot a look back towards Luz. She was standing off to the side with a picnic basket in hand. Although slightly out of place, she still managed to look as though she was having fun, and when Amity caught her eye, she mouthed ‘Mittens?’ questioningly.

Amity blushed and shot her a look as if to say, ‘don't you dare.’ And Luz chuckled.

“Ooohhh, who’s this?” Edric teased, catching sight of Luz.

Emira and Edric both turned towards the guard, and Luz blushed at the sudden attention.

“Do you have a lady friend too?” Edric teased, and Emira elbowed him hard in the side again.

Amity’s face was a vibrant, fiery red, and she suddenly regretted ever being born. “She's—Edric stop raising your eyebrows like that—she's my bodyguard that dad assigned after you two pulled that stunt with Madam Lilith three months ago and then dipped.”

Both of the twins looked confused initially, as if trying to remember which stunt precisely, but eventually managed to remember.

“Oh, the mice!” Emira exclaimed.

“Ahh,” Edric said, nodding his head. “Oof, well, sorry to stick you with that. She's cute though.”

Amity wanted to scream at both of her siblings to disappear again and give her and Luz their last good day together, but instead she closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath.

“Why, thank you for all of your lovely input, but Luz and I have a picnic to get to. Don't you have parents to disappoint?”

Both of the twins made a show of taking mock offence, and Amity rolled her eyes.

“Wow, nice to know you care,” Edric said sarcastically.

“Really, Mittens?” Emira asked, voice laced with crocodile tears, “After all this time?”

Instead of giving the twins the attention they both so craved, Amity pushed forward and grabbed Luz’s hand, dragging the two of them far away from her siblings and the chaos they brought wherever they went.

“So it is a lady friend.” Amity heard Edric tease, but she powered forward, the blush on her cheeks nowhere close to disappearing.

***

“They’re…nice,” Luz said after they were far enough away from the two royal pains.

Amity groaned. “I'm so sorry, Luz. They’re impossible to deal with sometimes—no—scratch that. All the time. They're unbearable all the time. I wish they would stay gone, wherever they went off to.”

Luz gave Amity a concerned look. “You don't mean that?”

Amity sighed and turned back to her companion. “I don't,” she admitted. “But life gets harder whenever they pop back into…I don't know, everything! God, and they're supposed to lead one day? They're the people I am going to have to bow to when I enter a room? How are they expected to run this country, especially when they know nothing about it?”

“Ah,” Luz said, “I think I understand a little better now; yeah, that’s rough.”

Amity nodded. “I mean, they're my siblings, and I love them, but they haven’t once taken anything seriously.”

“And let me guess,” Luz interjected. “You always do.”

“Yup.” She agreed. “I'm always the golden child. I always listen, do what I'm told, live exactly by the book, and when I step out of line, I'm the only one at fault. They can get away with everything, but I feel like I constantly have to prove myself.”

Luz squeezed Amity’s hand in support. “Well, maybe sometimes you could try to take life a little less seriously.” She offered. “I mean, you never have to prove yourself around me.”

“Well, that’s because you’re you,” Amity argued, and Luz’s brow furrowed.

“What’s that mean?” she asked, jokingly pretending to be offended.

Amity jabbed her lightly in the arm and giggled. “You know what I mean, idiot. You're the only person I never have to prove myself to. The only one I get to by myself around.”

Luz smiled softly. “Well, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.” She said before realizing that neither of them knew how much truth that statement held, and the two girls fell into silence.

Momentarily, breaking the awkward silence, Luz dropped their picnic things at the edge of a small pond. It was in the easternmost part of the palace grounds, and Luz had discovered it by accident during rounds one day and thought it the perfect place for a picnic.

Amity dropped down too, grabbing the picnic blanket and handing a corner to Luz to help spread it out. Once it was on the ground and smooth, Luz grabbed the basket, opened it, pulled out the goodies she had packed, and placed them carefully onto the blanket. When everything looked picture-perfect, Luz offered Amity her hand in sitting down, and the princess took it, smoothing her pale blue skirts to the side as she gracefully took her seat, Luz fumbling down behind her.

“About the leaving thing,” Luz said, grabbing an apple and holding it out to the princess. “Even if tomorrow I'm technically off duty as your guard, I'm sure I can still see you around the palace sometime. We can have our evening walks as we would normally do.”

Amity grinned at the idea. “Well, I was actually thinking…”

“This can't be good.”

“Oh, shush up!” Amity complained, scrunching up her nose. “I was going to say that I was going to ask my father tonight if you can stay on staff with me. Stay with me, I mean.”

Luz perked up. “Wait, really?” her eagerness radiating off of her.

“I mean, it couldn’t hurt.” Amity reasoned, knowing very well that if her father said no, it would hurt a lot. A whole, whole lot.

“Well, if that were the case, I wouldn’t complain,” Luz said cheekily, picking up a cracker and some cheese.

“And there was something else.” Amity admitted quickly, “Um, I know that it’s late notice, but I was wondering if you wanted to come to the ball tomorrow? As my personal guest?”

Luz looked at the princess in shock for a moment before a broad grin took over her face. “I would love to!” She exclaimed, holding up her food. “Let’s toast!” Amity tapped her apple slice to Luz’s cracker.

“To friendship!” Amity cheered.

_ I wish it were more. _ They both thought separately.

“To us!”


	8. The Storm

The queen’s parlor looked different than it had the last time Amity had been in it.

For one, there was a table in the middle of the luxurious room Amity’s mother tended to use for tea with her ladies, advisory meetings, and other tedious but necessary queenly duties. Additionally, on every available surface were various sheets of paper with expenses, names, and other Ball-related documents. The room had never been such a mess, and Amity thought to herself, neither had she.

“Mittens!” Edric called from where he was leaning back in his chair, legs planted in the middle of the mess on the table. “How was your picnic?”

Amity brushed off the question by rolling her eyes and took a seat on the opposite side of the table from her brother. Emira was sitting next to him, reading a letter with a strange smile on her face that Amity had never seen. Every once in a while, Edric would try to see what was written there, and Emira would snatch the paper away angrily. Their parents had yet to arrive.

“What are you reading?” Amity decided to ask, interest piqued.

“A love letter,” Edric replied in a bored tone. “Her lover gi—lover person gave it to her before they parted ways, and she reads it all the time. Won’t let me tho.” He grumbled, crossing his arms.

“It isn’t for you,” Emira stated plainly, folding up the paper and slipping it into her bodice.

“Children!” their father, the king, boomed, and all three of the royal children sprung to their feet, welcoming in their parents.

“ _Hello, dad_.” Edric and Emira chimed, putting on their most innocent looking faces.

The king glanced at them, and his lips twitched downwards. “Nice to see you could make it.” He said roughly and began sitting down in his chair.

“Um, Edric and I would like to talk to you in private after the meeting.” Emira said quickly, staring after their father with an impatient look in her eye. “If that's alright?”

The king nodded, and everyone began to settle down in their seats, and Amity leaned forward, eager to ask her parents about Luz.

“Hey, I was wondering if—” she began, but her mother promptly silenced her with a wave of her hand.

“We talk first; you later.” She said quickly, turning to the king.

“Yes, yes.” Alador drawled. “Now, with the ball tomorrow, we wanted to lay down some…ground rules and other things.”

Amity settled back in her seat. This would take a while, and she didn’t much care to sit on the edge of her chair for the entire meeting.

Her father rambled on for quite a while about rules and etiquette and other boring, boring things, mostly aimed at the twins. Amity, who never missed a manners lesson, and who knew all of this already, allowed herself to tune out and begin to think about other things. Other things like Luz.

She couldn’t deny it at this point; she liked her. Not as a friend, but as something _more,_ and it was very, very stupid of her. It wasn’t like she could spend her entire life chasing after her bodyguard, not with her marriage in the near future, not with her crown on the line. But, at the same time, the more Amity thought about it, the more unbearable life would be without Luz by her side.

Maybe she could compromise, stay blindly in love with her while she stayed by her side through what Amity imagined would be a horrible marriage she would have to endure. Maybe they could love each other in the shadows, in the dark. She could be the lovely Princess Amity during the day, but at night she could be all Luz’s. She could be herself. Maybe she could survive that way, but Luz wouldn’t be able to. Luz shouldn’t have to be subjected to a life in the dark; she deserved the day. She deserved more than dances in courtyards, more than stolen glances in empty rooms. Luz deserved more than Amity could give her, but she was greedy, and couldn’t stand to be without her. She couldn’t just let her go.

“-now Amity,” The king said, and Amity remembered herself, zoning back into the conversation. “I know that it might not be your favorite idea, but tomorrow you will be finding a husband.”

And reality kicked back in.

“So I expect you to dance with every young man at the ball. They have come from all over the kingdom just to meet you, and you are to meet them all with grace and eloquence, is that understood?” the king asked.

Amity nodded her head. “I was also wondering—”

“Then, at the end of the evening, you will choose your husband with me, and we shall announce it the next morning.” The king cut her off, and Amity sputtered for a moment, looking around in shock.

“You're going to announce it tomorrow?!” she asked, voice rising.

“In two days, yes.” Her mother replied, reaching her hand over and placing it atop Amity’s for comfort. “But don't worry, this is how it has always been, and look at our beautiful kingdom.” she shot the king a loving smile, and Alador returned it.

“But two days?!” Amity continued, beginning to feel as though the room were closing in. Was the air being sucked out of the room, or was that just her lungs?

“Yes, darling, but I promise everything is going to be okay. You’ll have an entire lifetime to fall in love with him.”

Him.

Him, it was always going to be a him. It was never going to be a her. It was never going to be _her._

“Him,” Amity said softly, falling back into herself.

“Yes, sweetie,” Odalia said, patting her hands. “And whoever he is, I'm sure we will all love him.”

If only they would love _her._

“Now, what was it that you wanted to ask us?” The king asked, giving Amity his full attention.

Something stirred in Amity enough to let her shake off the impending doom she was feeling and sit back up. “Oh, um, it was about Luz.”

The king gave her a confused look. “Luz?”

“My guard? Luz?” Amity replied, blinking quickly. How could he forget the very person Amity cared about the most, the guard _he_ assigned.

“Oh, Ms. Noceda, yes.” He said frowning. “What about her?”

“Well, I was wondering,” Amity began, taking a deep breath in recovery. “If she could remain to be my guard even into my engagement? Please?” She looked up into her father’s eyes, hoping there might be a small dash of sympathy behind them, but his frown only deepened.

“Oh, no.” he dismissed quickly. “No, that won’t be necessary anymore.”

Amity’s stomach filled with lead.

“Why not?” she pressed, her breath quickening. She couldn’t lose her freedom and the only person keeping her sane in just one day!

“Because,” the king grumbled. “You two are too close. It's informal, if not slightly strange, and besides, you’ll have a man to look after you.”

“But what if I don't _want_ a man to look after me?” Amity argued, pushing closer to her father.

The king’s eyes flashed. “You don't get a choice.” He barked. “It is your duty. She's getting transferred.”

Part of Amity screamed to fight, to stick up for herself and cause a scene, but after years and years of being told to stand down, stand to the side, she didn’t have it in her. She just couldn’t do it.

Amity sat back in her chair, surrendering. “Fine.” She mumbled and then didn’t utter another word for the rest of the night.

Soon the little outburst was forgotten, and the king got back to other news, but Amity zoned out quickly. She was going to lose the person she cared about the most. She was going to lose Luz, and there was no longer anything she could do or say to stop it from happening. 

***

When Amity got back from the meeting with her family, she was in a horrible mood. It was already so late, but her head was racing with all the things her father had said about the ball and her and…Luz.

Luz, who was leaning against her door frame and who jumped up as soon as Amity rounded the corner.

_Oh, this was going to be hell._

“How was your meeting?” she asked quietly. It looked like she had spent the entire night waiting for her, and Amity’s heart began to ache. How was she supposed to tell her what her father had said? How was she supposed to tell her she was leaving?

“It was shit.” She replied, shooting her a sad glance. “My family is a mess.”

“Oh, I'm sorry.” She said, grabbing the door handle and opening the door for the princess.

As soon as Amity got inside, she chucked off her heels and buried her bare feet into the plush carpet. “Yeah…” She trailed off, wondering if this was the right time to tell her. Suddenly her anxiety began to manifest in the form of a headache, and she had to sit down. 

“Make a lot of plans for tomorrow?” Luz asked, watching as the princess rested on her bed.

“Um yeah, about that—”

“I bought a suit.” Luz interrupted, beginning to blush. “To wear to the ball, I mean. I, um, wanted to look good.”

“Oh.” Amity managed to reply weakly, and Luz continued.

“I mean, I could just wear my normal guard uniform and all, but—”

“You're my guest.” Amity interrupted. “You don't have to wear your uniform.”

Luz flashed the princess a smile, but Amity was too tired to return the motion. This whole ‘telling her that she was being transferred’ thing was going to be much more challenging than she had ever anticipated.

“Sorry I interrupted you before,” Luz said after a moment. “What were you going to say about the plans and all?”

Her stomach dropped, and an icy cold feeling spread all over her chest. Was she going to do it, tell her now? or would she wait and let her be briefed the next day, impersonal, detached so that Amity wouldn’t have to watch her best friend’s heart _break_.

“Um, yeah.” She said softly. “Tomorrow is going to be the last day you will be working for me.”

Luz’s happy expression dropped swiftly, and she tilted her head in confusion. “What?”

Amity tore her eyes off of the girl in front of her in cowardice. “Tomorrow my father will be picking me a husband. After that, there will be no need for a personal guard. You’ll be transferred.”

She didn’t want to admit that the real reason Luz was leaving was because her father had decided they had gotten too close. She didn’t want to admit to her that Luz had to go because, for once in her life, she cared about someone more than she did her crown. For once, she had a taste of something extraordinary—love—and now that she had, it was too dangerous for her to keep living this way.

“I'm being transferred.” She echoed, the cogs in her brain turning slowly, unable to process the words Amity was saying. “But I thought you were going to talk to him—”

“The _king_ said no,” Amity said sharply, feeling the bridge of a relationship she had with Luz splintering.

There was a beat of awkward silence, one that Amity, for once in her life, was begging Luz to fill, but she didn’t. Instead, the girl looked down, with an expression not unlike a kicked puppy, and Amity had to tear her eyes away again.

“I don't understand.” Luz said. “Am I ever going to see you again?”

“I—” Amity started, then upon realizing she didn't have an answer, cut herself off. 

“Say something!”

Amity took a deep breath. “I don't know.”

Once she admitted it, the words were a spear, piercing her heart even though it was Luz’s heart she was breaking. 

“So, what then?” Luz finally asked, her voice breaking. “It's just over? Just like that, everything we’ve been through in the past three months, just gone?” Her eyes watered, and Amity winced at the sudden sharpness in her voice.

Today had been the epitome of awful, and she couldn’t deal with it anymore. She couldn’t deal with any of it. What was she supposed to say? I'm sorry? I love you? Not a fucking chance. She couldn’t give this up. She couldn’t give in to the feelings she had been having. Amity Blight was a princess, and princesses don't get to like girls. Princesses don't get to fall in love. Princesses are pawns.

She took another deep, slow breath and turned her gaze from the floor to Luz. She was standing there, drooping like a flower in the fall, looking at her with her heart in her hands, eyes swimming with tears. She looked broken-hearted, and Amity almost couldn’t bear it, but she had no choice.

“Yes.”

Luz opened her mouth as if to speak, but nothing came out. She just stood, staring, tears beginning to stream down her face without showing any sign of stopping. It wasn’t a sob, or ugly bawling, just a betrayed look with two tiny streams dripping down her face, glinting in the sparse evening light.

“Did you ever even care?” she finally asked, beginning to shake with what looked like a mix of rage and sorrow. “About me? About any of it?”

Amity averted her eyes again. She couldn’t take it—couldn’t handle Luz this way. She feared that if she looked up, looked at her, that she would finally break; admit everything she was feeling, everything she wanted to feel but couldn’t. Feelings she couldn’t have because it was _her_.

“Of course,” Amity whispered, her own eyes threatening to spill over with tears. “Of course I did.”

“Yeah?” Luz asked, scoffing as she rubbed her eyes. “Sure looks like it.”

At that moment, something in Amity snapped. All of her restraint, all of everything, the stress that had been holding her down, holding her back all those weeks, broke.

“You know what, Luz?” she asked, confidence growing with her temper. “I don't know why I even thought you would ever understand.”

Luz took a step back at the new edge in her voice. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Amity’s lips curled into an angry, exhausted smile. Her expression was of a girl driven to the edge..

“I'm a _princess._ ” She spat. “I'm royalty. I don't get to choose anything for myself.” Her volume gradually rose. “You don't think I would give this all up if I could? Well, I can't. I can't be a princess and yours, so _fuck you_ for even thinking I could. I mean, really? What sort of fucked up reality are you living in? Us? It would—could never work.”

“Amity—”

“No.” Amity interrupted, holding out her hand. “You don't get to call me that.”

Luz stumbled backward as if all the air was knocked out of her.

“Now what we’re going to do is you are going to leave, take tomorrow off, and then come to the ball to see me off.” Amity continued, voice terrifyingly level. “And then you will be transferred out of the castle and far away from here.”

“You're afraid,” Luz said softly, and Amity fumbled.

“How dare you—"

Luz nodded her head a few times, beginning to regain her composure. “Well, I am very sorry, princess.” She said. “I hope that you can figure that out for yourself one day. And for the record, I am going to miss you.”

Then, before Amity could say another word, Luz turned on her heel and exited the room, leaving the princess alone as she collapsed onto the ground with a choked sob on her lips.

Suddenly Amity didn’t like silence anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe 😈


	9. Kintsugi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trying to fix what has been broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things to inform you all of!  
> One if you don’t understand the chapter title, Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold, so, yeah  
> Then:  
> ✨Shannon lore style✨  
> She—drumroll please—has a girlfriend!! No it isn’t me, but they’re absolutely fantastic and she specifically wanted you all to know.  
> ALSO I know last chapter was sad, but I promise there will be a happy ending and plenty of smooching!!! I don’t write sad endings because I need happy ones. It will all resolve:)

When Amity woke up, it wasn't because of Luz stepping into her room and wishing her good morning; it was because of the light streaming through the curtains, hitting her eyes as she laid on the ground in the same place she had collapsed the night before.

Groggily, she began to assess her surroundings and rubbed her eyes, unfurling from her crumpled position into a more upright pose. Her neck and back were sore, probably from sleeping on the floor, and she had to take a moment to stretch everything before she could even consider getting up, not that she wanted to. 

Amity didn't want to do anything. What she really wanted to do was to lay on the ground until the carpet opened up and swallowed her whole. Unfortunately, the carpet didn’t seem particularly hungry or alive at all, and she eventually came to terms with the fact that she had a duty and brave face to put on, and pulled herself to a stand. 

Walking to the mirror, Amity had to take a step back in surprise at her reflection. She was a mess, hair sticking out in all directions, mascara streaked and smeared about her eye sockets and cheekbones, and undereye bags the size of handbags. It wasn't her best look, especially paired with last night's crinkled dress. She needed to get dressed.

After what seemed like hours, Amity settled on a simple day dress and string of pearls. Her face was clean after a few minutes of scrubbing, and she sat down and set about polishing up. A few minutes later, a sound pulled her from her thoughts, and her heartbeat quickened. 

The door. Luz?

"Mittens?" A familiar voice called, and all of Amity's hopes—which she shouldn’t have had in the first place—sunk. Emira.

"Yes?" She replied, somewhat displeased to have to entertain her sister now.

"Wow. You don't sound excited to talk to me at all." Emira said, coming into view. She was standing behind Amity in pants and a shirt, looking as informal as ever, with a mock-betrayed look on her face. When she caught sight of Amity trying to fix her swollen face with powder, her expression shifted to one of concern. "Wait, what happened?" she asked.

Amity drew her attention away from the other girl and went back to focusing on her eye bags. "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me!" Emira pressed. "Something is off. I know it."

"N—Nothing is off." Amity continued to fib. "Everything is fine."

Emira was silent for a moment, eyes drifting around the room. She caught sight of the crumpled dress on the floor, and the rag Amity had used to wipe the smeared mascara from her face, and became even more sure. Amity mistakenly took Emira's silence as her surrender, giving a premature sigh of relief.

"Where's your bodyguard?" Emira asked, suddenly realizing the missing presence in the room. "Luz or whatever her name is. Isn't she supposed to be here right now?"

At the mention of Luz's name, Amity froze, and her face fell. 

"Luz is taking the day off." She said in the softest voice Emira had ever heard her use. 

"Right before the ball?" she asked, knowing something was up without a doubt and determined to draw it out. Amity sputtered for something to say before Emira quieted her with her hand, a look of understanding upon her face. "What's wrong, Amity, really?"

Amity took a breath and weighed her options. Emira was her sister, but she had just left her in the dust for the past three months. She seemed like she cared, but Amity was never sure what was a kindness to get information or a kindness because they were blood. After a short period of consideration Amity surrendered. Besides, Emira never used her full name unless she was serious, and boy did she need someone to talk to. 

"Luz and I…we had a fight." She admitted, feeling slightly awkward having this conversation with her sister.

Emira sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Oh shit, you wanna talk about it?" 

She sounded genuinely sorry, and Amity nodded slowly, turning in her seat to face her sister. "Um, well," her eyes were already brimming with tears. "Basically, I told her that she would be transferring, and it didn't go over well."

"Like she was mean to you?" Emira asked sharply, brows furrowed. "Because I can beat that motherfucker up—"

"No, no!" Amity interrupted. "It's not like that, it's just…I don't know. I mean, I do know. We, um, I couldn't even begin to explain it, but in these past three months, she's become sort of my best friend. Sometimes it feels like more, but that's stupid, right? I mean, I can't actually like her like that. I mean, she's… she's a she."

"Oh." Emira's features softened, and she felt her heart wrench in two. She never knew Amity would—could feel this way, and looking at her now, she was obviously heartbroken. It was as clear as day. "Oh, Amity, of course you can." She whispered. "I understand. I really understand where you're coming from."

"Really?" she asked, tears dripping out of her eyes and ruining the makeup she had just put on. "Because I feel like I can't. I can't. I'm the princess. I'm the golden child. I'm—"

"Perfect, just the way you are," Emira interjected, rushing forward and sweeping her sister into a hug. "And princesses can like girls, Mittens. It's a new age. You're not tethered anymore."

"But dad—"

"Forget dad." Emira dismissed. "He's just stressed from ruling a whole country, but I know that he would want what's best for you."

"And mom?"

Emira winced slightly. "Mom, well, she's different." She pulled back from the hug. "Mom can be…controlling. She lives for the stability of tradition, but she'll come around."

"How can you be so sure?" Amity asked, wiping her tears. "That they won't care?"

Emira smiled. "Well, they're not going to be pleased at first, but you've got Edric and me to fight for you. We may be a dysfunctional family, but we look out for each other, and if you think this Luz girl is worth it, I say go get her."

Amity's mind raced with all of this new information. All this time, she was convinced that if she did anything to step out of line, anything at all, that she would never be able to live it down. That, even if she wanted to do something crazy like fall for a girl, she couldn't. She couldn't because of her parents, her life, and who she was, but now Emira was changing all of that.

And even if it was all some lie, even if Emira was just telling her these things to make her feel better, suddenly everything was clear. She couldn't let go of this—of the magic and insanity she felt whenever she was with Luz—no way. And even if she regretted it, even if she ruined the whole thing last night, suddenly it was a thing she needed to be fighting for. Suddenly it was clear that Luz was someone to fight for.

"Okay," Amity said. "What's your plan?"

***

"That bitch!" Willow exclaimed loudly, startling several passersby in the hallway. 

They were sitting in Luz's room, a sparsely decorated place in the basement of the palace, on her bed while Luz recounted the evening's events. Luz was trying her best to keep calm, but the last two days had her bursting at the seams. She wanted Amity and knew that, even if it was an impossible dream, an impossible wish, she couldn't help but think Amity had felt the same way, even if it was only slightly. Now all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and squeeze her eyes shut tight until the whole world swirled into inky darkness, a place where everything could be forgotten. Where everything would be erased. 

Willow, on the other hand, had spent the past few minutes trying to convince Luz to still go to the ball, even with last night's incident, but Luz was having trouble seeing her side of the argument. In her eyes, Luz needed to get out and face her fears, especially the princess, even though it would hurt. But sometimes, especially after hearing the awful things that had occurred the night prior, she got a little over-protective of her best friend.

"She's not a bitch." Luz argued, sounding unconvinced with even her own argument. "She's just…Amity."

Outside, a familiar looking guard peered into the scene. "Hey guys," Gus said. "Oh, is it girl time? I can leave if—"

"You can come in, Gus." Luz interrupted, gesturing at her friend to take a seat on the bed. "We were just talking about the princess."

Gus's eyes went wide, and he began to wring his hands. "Um, I don't know if I'm the guy to help you with that."

"Oh, come on you big baby!" Willow pressed, "You can still comfort your friend, can't you?"

Gus gave in and walked over, sitting carefully on the bed. 

"So where was I?" Willow asked. "Oh yeah, Amity is a bitch."

"She's not a bitch!" Both Gus and Luz said at the same time, and Willow sighed. 

"Yeah, so what?" she further pressed. "She still broke your heart, didn't she?"

Luz blinked a few times at Willow's bluntness and then sighed in exasperation, her hands flying up into the air. "Yes." She admitted. "She did, but it's hard to blame her; she's the princess."

"Yeah," Willow pressed. "And I wouldn't care if she was the fucking queen! If she ever had any sort of feelings for you—which everyone is convinced of anyways—she should be man enough to admit them! God, being a princess doesn't mean you get a free pass on being a coward!"

Luz's eyes went wide. "Wait, people think she has feelings for me?"

Willow groaned. "Of course that's what you'd pick up from that tangent. No shit she does! Don't think the rest of the palace staff are blind or anything. We see you going on all those long walks, and Gus here," she tugged on his jacket, and the guard blushed slightly. "Told me about your little adventure in town a few weeks ago. No self-respecting princess would do that unless they actually liked you."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Luz's mouth before she remembered what had happened the night before again, and the budding warm feeling in her chest disappeared. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway." She argued. "Because I am being transferred. Tonight is my last night!" 

"Which is why you should go to the ball!" Willow retorted without missing a beat.

Luz groaned again, expecting the girl to continue her argument, but Willow was cut off.

"I agree with Willow," Gus said, piquing the interest of both girls. "I mean, come on, Luz, you're the most adventurous girl I know. You always see things through to the end no matter what. Why is the princess any different? No, I think that you owe it to yourself to go tonight and experience the ball as a guest, not a silent stalker on the sidelines. For once, you shouldn't have to play the hero. For once, you deserve a break."

Luz's mouth dropped open to argue, but as it did so, she realized her friend actually had an excellent point. She was an adventurer, and maybe even if this whole Amity thing didn't work out, she had to see it through till the end. Otherwise, if she never did, she would regret it for the rest of her life. Maybe Amity would never love her, or she would never have a chance with her, but if she went to the stupid ball and did her best, she would at least know if there was anything there or not. She had to give it her best. She had to try.

"Okay." 

"Okay?" Willow echoed. "You mean we actually convinced you to do something?" she sounded in awe as if this sort of thing never happened. "Oh my god, we did!" she gave Gus a high five, and the young guard returned it with a smile.

"We make a great team." He said, and Willow nodded in agreement.

Luz rolled her eyes at her best friends. They were obnoxious, but they were hers. "Don't sound so surprised. I wanted to be convinced. Don't get big heads about this."

Willow shrugged. "I will take any win I can get."

"Same," Gus added.

"Alright then," Luz said, "Now what's our plan?"


	10. Save the Last Dance for Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two girls enter a ballroom.
> 
> They dance together.
> 
> But leave alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY LATE CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! I personally am jewish, but happy holidays to everyone anyway!!!
> 
> I’m giving a...taste of what everyone has been waiting for.  
> I wonder what’s going to happen at the ball...

“And now Her Royal Highness, Princess Amity Blight.”

The ballroom hushed at the announcement of the king’s daughter.

Edric and Emira had both already come and danced, drinking slightly more than they had intended to, then gracefully dipped away with the lords and ladies of their choice. Goodness knows where they were off to now, but with them gone the entire ballroom was waiting for Princess Amity, all eyes glued to the grand staircase, especially Luz’s.

Something tightened in her chest when Luz heard Amity’s name. She remembered the last time it had passed her own lips, and the sudden stab of Amity telling her off for it. All the memories flashed in her brain—every late-night conversation, moonlit walks, picnics—every moment they had spent together, which usually left Luz feeling dizzy with an emotion she was too afraid to name, but this time left her feeling hollowed-out.

Amity hadn’t even stepped out for the crowd to see, but Luz was already planning her escape. Amity had made it very clear the last time they had talked that she didn’t want anything to do with Luz anymore. After this night she would be leaving her post with the princess and likely transferring out somewhere in the country, far away from the royal family and all the drama they embodied. And she should have been happy about it too. She should have wanted nothing more than to run off and leave all the memories to slowly fall to nothingness, glamorized ignorant times used more like a lesson than something to remember with bliss, but she stopped when the princess finally stepped into view at the top of the stairs.

Luz’s breath immediately caught in her throat.

Amity was, well, Amity was the most beautiful she had ever seen her. Draped in the most extravagant seafoam green dress, she commanded the room, shimmering tulle floating out behind her like a cape. Her hair was curled into ringlets, framing her face and the golden crown she wore on her head with ease and power. Every piece of available skin dripped in expensive jewelry except her neck, which bore her single silver chain with the simple heart-shaped locket. Up there, she didn’t look like a helpless princess. Up there, she didn’t look like she needed protecting. Up there, she looked like a queen.

Still, no one said anything, and Luz continued to stare at the enchanting princess. Amity, who felt the gaze of hundreds of people on her, let her eyes flicker from where they had been trained on the chandelier above the dance floor and fell right to Luz. She stood out against everyone, piercing brown eyes, wistful gaze, and once her eyes latched onto her, she couldn’t look away.

Luz wanted to rush out into the crowd, sweep Amity up in one movement and take her far away from all the festivities. She wanted to steal two horses and help her escape far away from the world and all the problems she was facing—from having to choose a husband, and her parents, and this whole mess—but she didn’t move. Instead she simply stared, unable to take her eyes off of the girl.

And it was then, in that moment that with piercing clarity Luz Noceda realized she was truly, hopelessly in love with the princess, and that even with everything that had happened, she couldn't let her go.

_***_

When Amity stepped out into the ballroom, she had expected it to be quiet. She had expected everyone’s eyes on her. She had expected almost everything from the drink in her father’s hand to the way Edric was staring at her from the window at the back of the hall, but what she hadn’t anticipated was how drop-dead handsome Luz looked in that purple tux, and the way her eyes caught ahold of her as soon as she had stepped into view.

She was not by any means prepared for the feeling of her stomach blooming suddenly with countless butterflies, or for the feeling of her heart leaping as if it was trying to escape her chest

 _Fuck._ She thought to herself, trying to remain some amount of composure, _I’m not going to be able to do anything tonight with Luz looking like that._

Ever since their fight, Amity had spent every waking moment trying to come up with a solution to her dilemma. She was in love with Luz, but she had a duty to her country. She was a princess in love with a peasant. She was Amity Blight, second daughter to Alador and Odalia Blight, rulers of the Boiling Isles, third in row for the crown; she couldn’t afford to feel this way. But when she looked at the girl she loved, the girl she’d only known for three short months, she knew that she would do anything for her. She would have to lie about her feelings to save her. In the end, Luz wasn’t the one protecting her; Amity was.

Shaking her head out of her thoughts, Amity removed her eyes from Luz and let her mouth settle into the dazzling smile her father oh-so loved, and started her descent. Making sure she wasn’t looking at anyone in particular, Amity glided gracefully down the stairs and onto the dancefloor, where a roguish looking fellow took her hand with a toothy smile as he dragged her out into the crowded room.

She let herself be passed between suitors, only stopping briefly to try and talk to them about their travels and families, but her heart wasn’t in it. Every time she started to forget about her, Luz would appear across the room, still staring her down. Wherever she went, Amity couldn’t escape her gaze, and it was becoming unbearable. The ball was barely halfway through and she knew she would have to face Luz eventually, but hoped she could somehow skip that confrontation.

“…yes, and then the duke dropped his wine glass on the poor server’s foot, and she dropped the pie on him! Could you even picture it? The duke, gruff older man that he is, drunk out of his mind with an entire pie on him?! My cousins had a field day!” an objectively attractive young man named Roger finished, dropping into a bow as the dance ended. He had been going off telling Amity funny stories whenever he had her hand, and the girl was warming up to him.

 _Maybe he’s nice enough to distract me from Luz._ She thought to herself while smiling and nodding her head.

“That must have been horrible for the server, to embarrass themselves like that.” She pointed out. “I wouldn’t have wanted to be in their shoes.”

Roger chuckled. “Oh definitely not. The Duke was so furious that he fired her on the spot!”

Amity tilted her head to the side. “Oh, well she didn't deserve that.”

“Eh, she shouldn’t have dropped the pie. It was her fault.”

“But it wasn’t.” Amity pressed, taking a step away from the sutor. “You just said the duke dropped the glass on her foot.”

Roger shook his head slightly, giving the princess a confused look. “She was a _servant_ though.”

Amity narrowed her eyes. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

Roger sneered, “I mean, she was just a servant, expendable. She shouldn’t have dropped the pie.”

Amity scoffed, looking down the man with annoyance and anger in her gaze. “But it wasn’t _her fault_ , you see, it was the duke’s. _He_ dropped the glass.”

Roger tossed his head back and laughed. “You're defending the servant?”

When he brought his head back, the princess’s face was bright red, and she looked as though she was about to strike the man. “Roger.” She spat, and his face went white. “Being a man of fine upbringing, you must have gone through many a servant, yes? Do you treat them with the same respect you treat me?”

He looked around, slightly confused, trying to find a way out of the hole he had dug himself into. “No, but—”

“So then you treat them as beneath you.”

“I—they are beneath me! I am a lord and they are—”

Amity’s mouth screwed up into a disturbing smile, masking the extent of her fury. “Roger, I am kindly asking you to leave before I have my father remove you.”

“But what have I said wrong?” he tried to protest. “I refuse to leave until you tell me exactly what I did wrong.”

Amity drew in a deep breath and fixed Roger with a measured look. “I am higher than you, am I not? That would make you beneath me by your standards, would it not? Yet I still stand here, face to face, and I speak to you as my equal, as I speak to all of those who serve me. Entitlement does not mean that you may talk to others as though they are expendable, dirt underneath your shoe. Servants are people too.”

“Bu—Amity, you can't expect me to—” he was cut off by a hand suddenly grasping his shoulder, and a figure came into view.

“Pardon me, _sir_ , but the princess does not take kindly to people calling her by her first name. You shall address her as Her Royal Highness, or princess, but not Amity.” Luz said curtly, moving to stand between the princess and the flustered lord “How about you take your pompous attitude and get some punch.”

Roger was silent for a moment before turning to Amity behind her. “You dare let your _pet_ talk to me like this?” he asked, appalled.

“ _Her name_ , Roger, is Ms. Noceda, and she said exactly what I was thinking.” Amity placed her hand on Luz’s shoulder, pulling her back from the seething man.

Roger looked between the two girls astonished, then, ears pink with embarrassment, fell into a bow and slunk to the other side of the room.

When he was finally out of view, Luz turned to Amity, itching to pull her into a hug. Before she had a chance to say anything, the princess’s hand fell from her shoulder, and she began to speak.

“I could have handled that.” She said, eyes now trained on the floor. “You're not always going to be there to protect me, you know?”

Luz faltered, “Y—Yeah, Ames, I know.”

The princess peered up at the familiar pet name, a blush starting to form on her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to—I mean—ugh. I mean, thank you. Nice for you to finally show your face, I guess.”

Luz’s lips twitched up into an unsure smile. “Well, last time, I think I remember you telling me to ‘get lost’ so I wasn’t sure whether approaching you was the best move. We both know how you get when you're angry.”

“Hey!” she exclaimed, hitting Luz slightly in the arm. “I remember us both being pretty mad. It wasn’t just me.”

Luz tried to shoo away the butterflies in her stomach at the familiar banter. “Fine, but you can see why I was giving you space. And don't say it was just me; you could have approached me this entire dance. It's been two hours!”

“I was…busy…” she said, eyes glued to the floor again.

“Yeah, busy dancing with these bozos who are just nice to you because you have a title and a throne,” Luz replied bitterly.

“Luz.” Amity threatened. “We have gone over this. They can be nice, and you know this is my duty. Believe me, I’m not all that happy about the arrangement either.”

Luz scratched at the nape of her neck, casting her gaze down in shame. “I know Ames. I'm sorry, but I just get so…pissed. You should be able to do what you want with your life, not just marry some idiot guy and have a bunch of royal brats.”

“I'm a royal brat you prick.” Amity shot back playfully.

“You could say that again,” Luz muttered, and Amity giggled.

Suddenly, the orchestra’s sound started up again, music filling the room, and the men and women rushed around to find dance partners. Luz and Amity, standing on the ballroom’s outskirts, were left undisturbed, and Luz had a brilliant thought.

“Could I perhaps,” she began, holding out her hand, “Have this dance, princess?” Amity froze, and Luz watched as her brain did a bunch of calculations. “I know that it's informal, two girls dancing together, that I’m, well, not royal, but come on, Ames! If this is the last night I ever get to see you, I at least want one last dance!”

“Don't say that!” Amity rushed, grabbing Luz’s hand and pulling her close.

Faces inches apart, Luz felt her heart skip a beat. “Say what, princess?” she breathed.

“That I’ll never see you again. I couldn’t bear that.” Amity replied softly. “I don't think I could bear to lose you.”

Luz tried not to think about how those words made her feel and instead let a goofy lopsided smile take over her face. “Your wish is my command, your highness.”

And she swept her out onto the dance floor.

***

Luz didn’t know what she was doing, but she was doing it.

Unlike Amity, she was never classically trained as a dancer. The most she had ever danced was with her friends at small parties, or that one time with Amity on her birthday. She sometimes danced in the kitchen, or in her room when she could, but certainly never in front of an audience, and especially not with the princess in broad daylight like this.

There’s a first for everything, she supposed.

Shuffling about awkwardly, Luz finally clasped her hands around Amity’s and tried to remember how to lead. She didn’t get very far before Amity switched around their positions and placed one of her hands on Luz’s waist, the other clasped in her left hand while they began to waltz around the room, the only two girls dancing, while the princess led.

Amity’s lead was enough to make up for Luz’s lack of experience, and soon the two were sailing, making their way all around the room, feeling the beat of the music strongly in their hearts. While they danced, the rest of the world fell away until it was just the two of them under the light of a billion sparkling candles high above them. It was the best dance Amity had had all evening, and she had danced with almost all of the male suitors there.

Luz’s heart was working overtime, whether it was beating harder because she was dancing or because she was holding Amity’s hand, she didn’t know for sure, but she had a hunch. While she was staring at her all evening, while Amity shifted from suitor to suitor, she had imagined herself in their place, but now that she actually was, she realized it was all a big mistake. Feeling Amity gently coax her around the room, making sure she never missed a step only made Luz fall harder. How was she supposed to quell this growing feeling in her chest?

She had never felt this strongly for a person in her entire life, and now that she knew how she felt, she couldn’t just leave it unsaid—leave her behind. So instead of worrying, she just closed her eyes and just let Amity lead the way. Together they were perfect. Together they were _soaring_.

But just as soon as they were finally completely in tune with the beat, the music faded out, and the couple slowed to a halt, stopping right in the middle of the room. When the magic faded, the girls imminently became aware of the eyes on them, and just how silent the room had become.

Amity’s hand fell from Luz’s waist, but her other hand remained clasped in the other girl’s, unwilling to let go even with everyone staring at them.

“What is the meaning of this?” a voice interrupted, and Luz turned to see the king standing from his throne, beady eyes fixed on the two of them together.

“What do you mean?” Amity asked, her voice softer than before, weaker.

“I mean,” the king lowered his voice and made his way over to the girls. “I mean, _darling_ , why are you dancing with your servant? This is a ball. I expect you to _behave_.”

With a wave of his hand, the orchestra began to play again, and the room started to fill with noise, as if the king didn’t want his discussions with his daughter to be openly heard.

“We were only dancing.” Amity defended. “Dad—”

“Ladies don't dance with ladies.” He interrupted. “We’ve gone over this.”

Amity’s face fell, and she searched for words to say. “Dad, you don't, you don't get it we were just dancing!”

“And I told you, no more dancing with ladies. No dancing with ladies.” His tone sounded final, like he was done with the conversation.

“Oh, so what?” She challenged, newfound bravado revealing itself. “What does it matter if I dance with women or men? What if I want to dance with ladies? What then, dad?”

The king was silent, and Luz tightened her grip on Amity’s hand.

“Amity.” He began, lowering his voice further so that only she and luz could hear it. “You will drop your guard’s hand and go find a nice boy to dance with. Do not fight me on this.”

Something akin to fire lit up in Amity’s eye, and she held her father’s gaze. “Well, _I_ don't want to dance with any more men. I want to dance with Luz.”

The king blinked a few times rapidly before taking a step back and smoothing out his jacket. “Amity Blight, if you don't let go of Ms. Noceda’s hand right now then—”

“Then what, _Alador_?” She interrupted, eyes glimmering with a challenge. “What will you do?”

The king leveled his gaze with his daughter. “You will let go of her hand. Princesses don't dance with other women.”

Amity straightened, confidence coursing through her veins, and raised her head towards the king. “Then I wish I were born a man.” She shot back, louder than she intended. “For maybe if I were a man, then you wouldn’t care if I did _this_!”

And before the king could ask what ‘this’ was, Amity spun Luz towards her and into a passionate kiss.

Luz struggled for a moment in surprise, before realization hit her and she began kissing Amity back with with everything she had. She had never kissed anyone before, but _god_ , if that this was what it was supposed to feel like, Luz would have been doing this ages ago.

Kissing Amity felt like every last piece of the puzzle had fallen into place and she had finally figured out how to calm the fire which had been raging in her chest for so long. 

But then, as suddenly as it began, it was over.

Amity’s warmth faded away as the princess stormed out of the room, green dress fluttering behind her dramatically.

The ballroom had gone silent.

The king had turned to stone.

And Amity was gone, leaving Luz alone with the king, dopey smile on her face, and the taste of the bright red lipstick she had been wearing still on her tongue.


	11. Falling Into Each Others Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically just kissing 😌🖐

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, um, this chapter is a little *much* so if you know me in real life, just pretend like you never saw this. This is my official warning that this chapter contains...themes that are definitely pg-13. 
> 
> Fine. I’ll say it. Kissing. Is that what you wanted?? Huh?? Me to admit that I wrote another kissing scene? Well I did. And it's, um, a lot.

Amity’s heart hammered in her chest as she fled the ballroom.

_ Finally, she _ thought to herself.  _ Finally, I've done something right. _

No longer did her father’s opinion matter to her; no longer did her heart feel heavy, as if some indescribable, horrible weight held it down. No longer was she tied down, chained to the inevitable life she had always dreaded; no, in that one action she had freed herself.

She was her own knight in shining armor.

The eyes of all the nobles followed her well out of the ballroom, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was that she could get back to her rooms and slam the door shut, hiding from their words and glares until the party had ended and they returned home. From there, she would figure out her next step. From there, she could figure out what to do about Luz.

_ Luz, shit. _ She had completely left her there, alone to face the king, at the ball after she had just… she really ought to think these things through, honestly.

Amity made a beeline to her room. Perhaps it was the adrenaline rush, or some other force skewing her perception of time, but she somehow arrived at her rooms in under two minutes, rushed inside, and slammed the door shut.

Her father had given her a key a while back. It was a good idea at the time to have a key to the room so that no one could come in if they tried. For protection, he had told her, for protection only, but now the thing she was trying to lock out was her father himself rather than a burglar or bandit. No, now this cage of a room she had lived in her entire life was nothing like it was before; it was her salvation. Outside the room was the real cage, the real box she had been trapped in since birth.

As soon as the door was locked and secure, Amity dropped to her knees. The exhaustion hit her all at once, the running, the dancing, the shattering of her image—her entire reputation. And as freeing as it felt, the feeling of the weight lifting off her shoulders filled her with new exhaustion, a new set of questions, many of which were simply: what next?

She must have laid there on the ground, motionless, for a good five or six minutes before another noise disturbed her; someone knocking on the door.

“Am—Amity, are you there?” Luz asked breathlessly from beyond the door. She sounded as if she had run the whole way there, and Amity’s heart began to race once again.

_ What if she doesn’t like me? What if my father sent her? What if I just made the biggest mistake of my life? _ She asked herself, the rushing thoughts so overwhelming that she almost even forgot to reply.

“I—yes. Yes, I'm in here.” She admitted, shifting her skirts and facing the door. She wasn’t sure she wanted to open it just yet.

“Can I…can we…um…” Luz trailed off. “You, uh, you kissed me.”

“Yeah,” Amity breathed, bracing herself for rejection.

“Right in front of everyone, you kissed me.” She said again, in utter disbelief.

“I was there, I remember,” Amity replied, hugging her knees to her chest.

“Yes, but  _ you _ kissed  _ me. _ ” She pressed further.

Amity sighed, “Yes, Luz, I did.”

There was a break as Luz tried to collect her thoughts. “Can…can you please open the door?”

Her stomach dropped. She didn’t want to face her, face anyone, after  _ that _ .

“I, uh, yeah.” Amity took a steadying breath and forced herself to a stand. Her legs shook under her, and she stumbled forward slightly, fishing the key from where she hid it above her door frame, and placed it in the lock. Her hand trembled slightly as she turned the key. The sound of the door unlocking reverberated in her ears, married with the turbulent rush of blood, and she had to close her eyes to remain standing.

Luz slowly pushed the door open, and Amity stumbled forward and into her arms. She was slightly taken aback by the girl’s weight crashing into her, but quickly found stable footing and held Amity steady. She didn’t make any move except to squeeze Amity closer to her, feeling each heavy breath fill her chest with a distinct inhale and exhale.

Eventually, Amity began to put more weight on her feet and stand on her own. When she was out of Luz’s hands, her eyes fell to the floor, and she refused to even look at the guard, at the girl she had kissed not moments earlier in the ballroom.

“I messed everything up, didn’t I?” she asked, beginning to sniffle slightly. “I've ruined everything.”

Luz’s lips parted in concern, and she reached out and grabbed Amity’s hand in her own. The princess tensed slightly at the touch, but allowed Luz to lace their fingers together.

“How could you even think that?” Luz said fondly. “You haven’t ruined anything at all.”

Amity’s eyes flicked to Luz’s face, and she looked confused. “But I  _ kissed  _ you. I kissed you in front of  _ everybody _ .”

Luz’s lips twitched upwards as she recalled the memory. “Yup. And we danced at the ball. And your father yelled at us. And so what? How did you ruin everything?”

Amity shook her head. “I kissed you. I'm not supposed to kiss you. This was never in my plans. This was never something I—”

“Do you regret it?” Luz interrupted, squeezing Amity’s hand and willing the other girl to meet her gaze.

Amity’s despair flickered into confusion, and she blinked rapidly. “What do you—”

“Do you regret kissing me?” Luz asked again.

Amity’s mouth parted, and she took a deep breath. “I…I would do it again a billion times in any universe. I—I couldn’t regret it if I tried. I, honestly, nothing has felt that right in my entire life.”

Luz’s face became unreadable for a moment, and Amity squeezed her eyes shut in preparation for the inevitable rejection, but it never came. Instead, Luz drew her in closer, her free hand cupping Amity’s cheek, and pulled the girl into another kiss.

Amity’s eyes fluttered open in surprise, but she didn’t pull away. Luz’s mouth was so soft on hers, and the way she was cupping her face felt nothing like she could have imagined. The weight in her stomach dissolved into a swarm of butterflies, and she kissed Luz back. She kissed her back hard.

Her hand went out behind Luz, and she slammed the door shut, pushing the two of them against it without breaking their embrace. Her hands hovered, still shaking, until the guard grabbed them and pushed them against her suit. Amity, getting the message, grasped the jacket by the lapels and coaxed it off of Luz’s shoulders, eager to rid her of the layers separating them.

Luz’s hands slid down Amity’s body, dragging down her neck and sternum and then pressing into her waist. Then, with one unexpected movement, Luz flipped their bodies around so that it was Amity against the door and began trailing her lips from jaw to clavicle. Amity’s breath hitched, and she let out a soft noise that only encouraged Luz to begin sucking and biting the skin there.

“You… left… me…” Luz spoke through kisses, “alone… in the… ballroom with your… father…”

“I—I'm sorry.” Amity stuttered, barely able to form words. “I was hoping that—that you… didn’t hate…me…”

Luz stopped her ministrations for a moment, and Amity took the time to catch up on her breathing. When she looked up, Luz was surveying her dress with half-lidded molten brown eyes.

“Take it off,” Amity said in a rush, and Luz met her gaze.

“What?”

“The dress,” she said, exasperated. “Help me take it off.”

Luz went utterly silent. “Are you sure?” she asked, her voice soft and concerned. “You’ve had a long night, and I don't want you to do anything you're going to regret later.”

The sudden softness in Luz’s voice and eyes was almost too much to bear, and Amity had half a mind to shuck her dress off herself and tackle the girl to the ground, but she restrained herself.

“Luz,” she said, her voice dangerously low. “If you don't take this dress off of me this instant, I will rip it off myself. And then I will tear off the rest of your suit. And then we can see how many mistakes we can make in one night, got it?”

Luz’s mouth dropped open in surprise, and she shook her head rapidly. “I—got it. On it.”

Amity turned her back to Luz so she could begin to remove the article of clothing. Luz’s breath was hot at her nape, and it only added to her arousal. It seemed as though Luz was being purposefully slow with the loosening of her corset, and she was becoming somewhat desperate. She  _ wanted _ Luz, and the girl was taking  _ forever _ .

Finally, after an unbearable minute, Amity’s dress loosened enough for her to slip out.

When she turned, Luz’s breathing stopped. It was one thing to see Amity nearly dressed in the morning, but nearly naked was something completely different. She would never have imagined—could never have imagined that this was how her day would go, standing in front of Amity, half-dressed, with her hair all frazzled, eyes  _ wanting _ .

“What are you waiting for?” Amity asked impatiently. “Kiss me.”

Luz quickly remembered herself, and her hands went to Amity’s naked waist and began to drag up and down her sides. “Is that an order?” she asked in a low voice, but Amity didn’t respond because she was lost in thought, trying to commit this new feeling to memory.

When she didn’t get a response, Luz resumed her work on Amity’s neck, breathing hotly on the already sensitive skin. The girl shuddered at the intensified feeling, and her legs buckled. Suddenly the princess was very grateful for the wall holding her up.

“Hmm?” Luz whispered sweetly, lips at the lobe of her ear, “Was it?”

Amity tried to speak again, but every time her mouth came close to forming words, Luz would bite gently down on her pulse point, and nothing intelligible would come out.

Eventually Amity was able to get a hold of herself, and she made quick work of the buttons of Luz’s shirt, untucking it and removing it without ceremony. Now it was Amity’s turn to tease, and she drew Luz in, drawing circles on her back gently. Luz, who hadn’t expected that, let out a soft moan, and Amity smirked.

“I bet you want to kiss me now?” she asked playfully, one hand reaching up and nudging Luz’s chin down, level to her gaze. Luz’s eyes went straight to Amity’s lips, and Amity smiled.

“I…yes! Yes, yes please.” Luz rushed out, somewhat pleadingly.

“That’s what I thought.” Amity shot back, and Luz pulled the two of them into another long-lasting kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually didn't write this, the goblins who steal my socks did. I would never ever even think of writing something like this. I'm an innocent child, please. I would never.


	12. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The princess, the king, and the crown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey loves, welcome to the final chapter! Been a long journey, but I’m glad to have finally gotten here. You all seemed to enjoy the last one, but now things have to go back to being serious. Good luck and love you all :)

Emira Blight stormed into the brightly lit throne room, slamming the doors open in such a fashion it caused everyone inside to jump slightly in response.

"Emira, what on _Earth_ —" The king boomed, but Emira held up her hand, and he fell silent, not because he chose to, but because her presence had never been so threatening that he had to stop and gawk.

"Father, what happened last night was…" she paused to search for the right word, even though before she had stormed in she and Edric had gone over all of her talking points.

"A mistake." The king supplied, anger flashing in his face as he recounted the embarrassing scene he had to apologize to half the kingdom for. After that _scene_ how was he to find a husband for his daughter? Nearly every eligible bachelor from miles around had watched his daughter kiss her guard right in the middle of the dancefloor.

"No." Emira spat, matching his tone. "It wasn't."

The king raised an eyebrow and with the wave of his hand dismissed all of the guards in the room, and gestured for one to send in his wife. He didn't need anyone around for this conversation, no one but him, his wife, and his daughter. 

"Then what would you call it?" He asked, trying to tame the fury raging in his chest.

"Love," Emira said without missing a beat, eyes going soft. "It was love, dad, and I know you can't see that but—"

"You're right." He interrupted, and Emira shot him a confused look.

"That it was love?" she asked.

The king threw his head back and chuckled lowly. "No, Emira, that I can't see that." When he met his daughter's eyes again there was no laughter at his lips and what was left was a stony gaze which on any typical day Emira would not dare to challenge. "I cannot have my daughter, my _blood_ , running around and having affairs with her guard! That would be obscene."

Before Emira could start to defend Luz, something in her brain clicked, and she took a second to think. 

"You keep saying _guard…_ " she said slowly, gears turning in her head as she went. "But not _girl_ …"

The king blinked slowly, stone crumbling back into confusion. "Yes?"

"I'm here!" A flowery voice called from the side of the room, and Odalia glided into the throne room with a turquoise blue satin dress fluttering down her slim body and curtaining her arms. 

"Oh, please continue." She said, waving her hand as she settled into the slightly lower throne next to her husband.

But before either of the Blights could continue their fight, the sound of the door slamming open again surprised the three of them, and Emira turned just in time to find Amity storming in angrily, with a weight in her step that neither of them had seen before. 

Amity was wearing her hair down, with the locks at the front pinned up into a beautiful solid gold tiara, which glimmered in the brilliant lights of the throne room. Her dress was gold, matching the tiara exactly, with metallic stitching sewn into the fabric so that it looked like the sun was woven into her skirts, starting at her waist and dripping down the side until it got to the floor where it met with tulle. Her shoes looked gilded, shimmering and bright, and her makeup was more dramatically done than even the ball before. 

Emira, Odalia, and Alador's mouths dropped open at the sight of her, not only because she was commanding and more beautiful than she had ever looked before, but because the color gold was not a color anyone but the king or queen could wear, but there she was, a perfect picture of a monarch. 

When she reached the front of the room she didn't bow like was expected, nor did she even look at the king, but rather turned and gave Emira a curt nod.

"Thank you." She said, her voice strong and confident. "But I can take it from here."

Emira blinked rapidly before falling into a deep curtsy and swiftly exiting the room, forgotten by the two of them well before she reached the door. 

When Amity turned, the king was standing. His throne was large and placed on a platform above the floor to strike fear and respect into the hearts of whoever came to see him, but Amity wasn't intimidated by her father trying to make himself taller; the action only let her know he was threatened, and the notion brought a sly smile to her lips. 

"Father, mother." She addressed, nodding her head lightly to either of her parents with some semblance of respect. "Before you try to interrupt me, this is my time, and I am going to be speaking. I will give you time after I am done, is that understood?"

The king gave her daughter an outraged look. "I am the king—"

"And I am the princess." She said, giving him a tightlipped smile. "Now that we've got our titles out of the way, are you ready to listen, or should I come back after you take a nap and aren't so whiny?"

His jaw dropped to the floor, and Amity bit back another remark. She had never seen anyone talk to her father this way and never imagined she might be the one doing so. Odalia, on the other hand, looked ready to come down there and tear the beautiful tiara from her daughter's head, outraged that her daughter, who had been taught to respect her elders, would talk to members of her family that way, but before she could make a move, Amity spoke again.

"Good." She said quickly, fearing a response that would send her out of the room. "Now, as for my spectacle last night."

Amity had gone over the words she was going to say when she met with her parents a billion times in her head. When she and Luz had woken up, even as much as she hated leaving the warm covers and arms of her lover, she knew something needed to be done and went over her lines with Luz while she played with her hair, calming her down enough to confront the king. Before she had come in, she knew everything she was going to say, everything she was going to apologize for so that she might have a glimmer of a prospect of a life with the girl she loved, but as she stood before them, all of those apologies burnt to ashes, and she was struck with the overwhelming magnitude of what she was about to say.

"I don't regret a thing." She said simply, eyes falling to the floor and back onto her parents. "I—I really don't because, guess what, even after you told me I couldn't, and after I thought for years and years that I couldn't be who I wanted to be—couldn't love who I wanted to love—I found someone amazing and even if she is a girl, that shouldn't stop her from being the person I want to spend my life with. I will not apologize for loving who I love and being who I am because when it comes down to it, I do not exist for your pleasure. I do not exist for your use. I am my own independent person with my own independent feelings and thoughts and emotions, and I am in love with Luz Noceda, and I do not care what you or mom have to say about it."

She took a deep breath, and a warm smile brightened her features as she thought about Luz and how she had never felt so free and alive with any other person before, and she heaved a small sigh, facing her king with the final words she had for him.

"I have spent my entire life trying to be this perfect princess, hoping that I might amount to something besides what I can give to you by becoming a wife, and that wasn't fair. That wasn't fair to me because I shouldn't have to be a perfect person, not now, not then, not ever. And what I have with Luz—I know what you think—I know that you think it is a horrible mistake and that you'll never be able to find me a man, but it isn't. My love isn't a mistake, and I don't care if you banish me or kick me out or tell me I'm not your daughter anymore because I don't want to be a princess anymore if it means I can't be with the person I love."

Both Odalia and Alador were shocked into silence for a moment before the queen rose and walked down to her daughter, an unreadable expression on her face. When she got to her level, the queen took her daughter's hands in hers and gave her a sympathetic smile. 

"Sweetie," she said softly. "You're just confused right now—"

Amity tore her hands from her mother's grasp and took a step backward, eyes fiery and sharp. "Don't you _dare_ touch me." She said. "I am _not_ confused."

Odalia's eyes hardened into something much less forgiving, and she scoffed. "Amity, may I remind you that I am your _mother_. I gave you life, and I get to tell you what to do with it."

"No, you don't." Amity shot back without missing a beat. "I never asked to be born, and yet here I am. Just because I am your daughter doesn't mean that you get to decide who I am and what to do with me."

The queen sputtered and turned from her daughter to her husband, sending him a glare to rouse him into action, but the king was looking away with a thoughtful look on his face. 

"Fine. You're no daughter of mine anyway." Odalia spat, turning back to her daughter and giving her one last once-over, then with a finality in her step, turned on her heel and hurried out of the throne room, shimmering fabric fluttering behind her. 

Amity didn't let herself gape after her mother. Instead, she rounded her vision back to her father, a sudden nervousness in her stance that hadn't been there before. Mothers had a way of doing that, making you feel insurmountably small with a few choice words.

The king sighed profoundly and surrendered, eyes meeting Amity's and going soft. "Amity," he started, trying to figure out how he was going to phrase this. "I think—I think I understand."

Amity's eyes went wide, and she let out a nervous laugh. "You—You do?" she asked. 

He looked around again, scratching his forehead. "I mean, I am but an old man who doesn't fully understand the walks of this world even though I have lived in it much longer than you, but for the first time in a long time, I think you have taught me something. Come, sit." He gestured for her to sit next to him, and Amity cocked her head.

"In the queen's chair?" she asked softly. 

The king nodded, and she strode up the marble steps, settling into the seat and smoothing her skirts next to her. The carved oak seemed to be already molded to her body, and she leaned back comfortably, looking out and examining the room from this new vantage point. She could see why the king chose height, because up here, all of the problems seemed less important without diminishing their weight, letting her take things in from a different perspective.

"You know," he said. "Only one other person has ever talked to me the way that you did just now."

Amity shot her father a look. "Really?"

"Yes." He confirmed, nodding with a smile beginning to blossom on his face. "You know who it was?"

"No," Amity admitted. 

"Your mother." He said, "It was before we were married actually, back when I was just a prince. I was going to marry someone else back then, another lovely girl who has long since gotten married and moved far, far away from me, but back then her family was much more influential and powerful, so I didn't have a choice. I had to marry her. Odalia came from a rich family, but not rich enough, and even back then, when I was in love with her, I couldn't do anything about it."

"Oh, no." Amity reacted, and Alador chucked.

"Oh no indeed, but as it so happened, your mother was stubborn and a month before my wedding, sat me down and barked at me until I realized I couldn't let someone like her go. She would make a brilliant queen. So I marched my butt down to this throne room, just like you, and reasoned with my father until he called off the wedding. Except, unlike you, I was a little bit more respectful about it."

Amity ducked down sheepishly. "Sorry." She squeaked. 

"Eh," Alador continued. "I wouldn't have listened otherwise, so I am glad you did. I needed to remember that there are other views out there than my own. But Amity, as much as I love you, I can’t see your relationship with Luz working out."

Amity shot up again, ready to defend herself and Luz, but Alador held up his hand. 

"Let me finish." He said, and Amity ceded. "Now you see, I wasn't going to tell you this yet, not even your mother knows, but after our talk the other night, the twins came to my chambers where I was working." He took a deep, steadying breath. "And they ceded the crown to you."

Amity's brain short-circuited. 

Suddenly nothing made sense anymore, and then everything did, and she buried her face in her hands and let them hold up the weight of her head which had become in that moment, filled with lead. Her, a queen? A ruler? The leader of a nation? She was experienced and knowledgeable and knew more about her kingdom than any other person on the planet, but the prospect of her actually being queen never even occurred. And now the idea of dragging Luz into all of that, it was terrifying. What if she didn't want to? What if it was too much? Could she bear to lose the love of her life if it meant she could wear the crown? Did she have a choice?

"Which is why today, when you barged in here all covered in gold, I was enraptured. Because I saw at that moment, my dearest one, not my little kid, not my daughter, but the future queen of my nation. The heir to the crown."

Amity bit back a laugh, or it might have been a sob, she couldn't tell, and began to lift her head. As she brought it from her hands she felt a new weight settle onto her shoulders, but this one wasn't painful or suffocating like the ones before; it felt natural, as if it was meant to be there. It was the weight of the crown on her head.

"But how am I supposed to lead?" she whispered. "I don't know if I can."

The king reached out his hand and placed it on his daughter's cheek. "You can." He assured. "But I don't know if Luz could."

Amity's eyes flicked to the floor, and she took a breath. "I want—I want to go tell her." She admitted. 

"Then go." He said. "But we are going to have to talk again soon."

Amity reached up and held her father's hand to her cheek for a second longer, closing her eyes to the touch. "But what about mom?" she finally asked, eyes flickering open. 

"I will talk to her." He promised. "She'll come around."

Amity rose and descended the few steps. When she got to the bottom, she turned abruptly, and Alador grew confused, but then, before he could grow any more concerned, Amity rushed back up the steps and pulled her father into an all-encompassing hug.

"Thank you." She whispered, kissing him on the cheek. "I love you."

Then she rushed away and out the door to find Luz, leaving the king finally alone.

As he watched her fluttering skirts finally dip out of view, the king leaned back in his chair and gazed out at the empty room. He had been ruling the isles for almost twenty years now, and he had never seen someone as fit to rule as his youngest daughter. Even secretly, before the twins came to him, he had dreamed of a universe where Amity was his eldest so she could be the one to take the throne, and now that it looked like she would, anxiety which had been wedged in his chest for a great many years dissipated. 

"Oh, she is going to be great." He whispered to himself, assuredly. "She will be the best."

***

Amity’s heart was ready to jump right out of her chest as she thundered down the hallway back to her rooms, gown flying out behind her as she careened past guards and nobles alike. Most people stopped for her and stared, wondering why the princess was wearing gold and running, but also because of the stunt she had pulled last night. 

The whole night the palace was afire with rumors. Everyone had their own ideas about what happened after Amity left. Many thought the king might banish her; others thought they might try to brush it under the rug and make the whole thing disappear, but something changed early morning before anything could be confirmed. The twins were packing. The twins were packing everything, and no one had any clue what that might mean. And then there was Amity, the golden girl, running down the corridors all draped in gold. There would be talk, for sure, there would be plenty of buzz.

Amity rounded another corner, still running like her life depended on it, but was suddenly stopped, crashing into a familiar figure.

“Ames, what are you running from the police or something?” Luz joked, helping Amity up from where the floor.

Amity took Luz’s hand with a burning blush on her cheeks and ducked her head. “I _was_ trying to get back to you as fast as I could, but you crashed into me and ruined my whole thing.” The princess complained, readjusting her tiara.

Luz scoffed and reached over, fixing Amity’s frazzled hair. “I think it’s _you_ who crashed into _me_ , but whatever you say, _princess._ ” Her lips curled at the word, and Amity continued to burn scarlet red.

“Don’t make me kiss you right now.” She threatened. “I have to talk to you about something, but I will do it.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?” Luz replied, a rebellious glimmer in her eye. Sure, they were in the middle of a usually highly populated hallway, but she didn’t really care anymore. Everyone had already seen her kiss the princess, so who cared if she did it again.

Amity fought off Luz’s charm by batting her arm away and starting back to her rooms, knowing the girl would follow. “It was 100% a threat, but one I have no intention of following through with in public. Plus, I really need to talk to you about what my parents said.”

Luz dropped her flirtatious attitude quickly, catching up with the princess just in time to open the door for her. Amity rolled her eyes at the chivalry, but Luz could tell she couldn’t get enough of her.

“So was it bad?” The guard asked as soon as they were alone. “Or, rather, do we have to pack your things and flee the country right now?” 

Amity didn’t answer Luz’s questions and instead walked over to the giant windows overlooking the courtyard. Her hands glided over her tea table and onto the velvet curtains, pulling them open further to let even more sunlight in. Luz gazed after her carefully, watching as the sun reflected off of the gold detailing in her dress, creating a billion spots of light around where she stood and up the walls. 

The sunlight streamed through her gold tiara, making her brown hair almost golden and painting her in the perfect light for a portrait. If Luz had a pen and paper, she would start drawing her right then, and the idea sparked the memory of the first day they had met. Somehow Amity had the magical skill to look beautiful in whatever light fell upon her, the moonlight and the brilliant mid-morning sun shining upon her like a holy aureole. 

“We don’t have to pack.” She said, turning back to Luz and holding out her hand. Luz strode forward and laced her fingers with Amity’s, standing to face her. 

“Am I going to lose you?” she asked in a soft voice, a sad smile on her face. “Because I don’t think I could bear it, but if that’s what needs to happen, I can go.”

Amity searched for any falsehood in her eyes, but Luz wasn’t lying. She would really give up loving her if that’s what Amity wanted, and part of her felt flooded with guilt because Amity could never be so selfless as to give up the girl she loved.

“No,” She said softly, her other hand reaching up to caress her cheek. “You’ll never lose me.” She whispered, drawing her closer and into a soft peck. “But something else happened.”

Luz blinked a few times in confusion. “Like what?” she asked, unable to fathom any other sequence of events.

Amity looked back out to the courtyard and gazed at her kingdom. In the distance, she could see rolling hills and trees, tiny houses scattered like the wind over miles of countryside, and then, if she looked hard enough, the ocean way out in the distance, lapping against the shores. 

“The twins,” she started, squeezing Luz’s hand tightly. “Renounced the crown sometime Thursday evening, making me…”

“The heir.” Luz finished in awe, eyes going wide. “You’re the crown princess.”

“I’m the crown princess.” Amity confirmed, still unable to meet Luz’s eye, terrified that this new information might change everything—it _did_ change everything.

Luz took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and falling back on the heels of her feet. “You’re going to be the queen.” She continued. “Of the entire kingdom.”

“Yes.”

“The twins gave up the crown.”

“Yes.” Amity drew in a breath, ready for the ‘but’ but it never came.

“I’m kissing the heir to the throne.” Amity’s eyes flew to Luz. The guard was grinning widely, head cocked to the side, fixing Amity with a tender gaze. “I’m in love with the next queen of the Boiling Isles; now that’s something I never expected to say.”

Amity’s mouth fell open. “You mean you don’t care?” she asked. “That I’m going to be queen? You aren’t worried about what that will mean for us if we stay together, or what it will mean for our futures or the rest of our lives?” 

Luz’s eyes crinkled as she smiled, and she drew Amity in by the waist, holding her so close that their breaths mingled into one. “Am I worried?” she asked. “Are you?”

“I’m terrified,” Amity admitted.

“Well I’m not.” Luz said simply, squeezing Amity’s hand again. “Because I have you. Everything will be alright as long as I have you.” 

Amity began to grin. “I have you.” She whispered. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Luz whispered, closing the space between them.

And as they kissed, sunlight streaming through the glass, reflecting off of the dress and their hair, illuminating the room, a calmness settled between the two girls. There was no tension or anger or yearning, just two young women, a princess and her guard, kissing in the brilliant light of the day, unafraid of what came next.

Unafraid because they finally had each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well we did it, the fic is over! I never thought i’d ever do anything like this--fanfiction or writing 30000 words--but here i am i guess. I don't know if or when i will post again, but i assure you that posting my first fic 5 months ago was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Writing for you all is everything to me, so thank you. Thank you all for helping teach me that writing is something I am truly passionate about. Thank you for your comments and kudos and support. Thank you for coming on this adventure with me. Happy new year and may our paths cross one day again 💋


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